Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Position Cut by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,360,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,030,000 after acquiring an additional 149,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,311,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,154,000 after acquiring an additional 29,462 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 296,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,624,000 after acquiring an additional 18,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,507,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.42.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:PFG traded down $2.89 on Friday, hitting $81.53. 1,833,411 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,883. The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.21 and a 1 year high of $88.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.09.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.20%.

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.