Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 29,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,990,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,313,000 after acquiring an additional 554,606 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,800,000 after purchasing an additional 284,067 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,633,000 after acquiring an additional 227,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,162,000 after purchasing an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.3 %

PFG stock opened at $81.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.96%.

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.