Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 5,959 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 17,526.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,993 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,959 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.00. The stock had a trading volume of 971,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,896. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $88.26. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.