Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,682 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $5,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,028,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,953,000 after buying an additional 150,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,146,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,531,000 after acquiring an additional 258,621 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,514,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,113,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,986,000 after purchasing an additional 43,319 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $84.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.47. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PFG. Evercore ISI raised Principal Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $83.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.18.

About Principal Financial Group

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.