AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $46.40 Million Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 540,212 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,569 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $46,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 319.3% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.77. 275,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,128,255. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.80. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.71 and a 1-year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 55.73%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.