Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Reduces Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 81.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,460 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $217,021,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,511,000 after buying an additional 264,383 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 398.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,555,000 after buying an additional 232,915 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $15,821,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,480,000 after acquiring an additional 141,447 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.57.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE PFG opened at $86.19 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $72.21 and a one year high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio 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.