Blueshift Asset Management LLC Has $349,000 Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,004 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $87.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.39 and a one year high of $91.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.45. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PFG. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

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.