Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 896 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 896 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth $482,000. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $643,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 478,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,509,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $721,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 16.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 78,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,188,000 after acquiring an additional 11,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $79.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.93 and a 200-day moving average of $80.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.