Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 8,991 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 457,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,991 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.20% of Principal Financial Group worth $35,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,129,000 after acquiring an additional 44,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,511,000 after acquiring an additional 264,383 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 8.0 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $72.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.67.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.57.

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.