Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $8.34 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,751 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $85.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.62.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.