California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 23,520 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,520 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $35,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,804,000 after purchasing an additional 37,836 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,715,000 after purchasing an additional 231,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of PFG stock opened at $79.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.64.

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.