Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Holdings Cut by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $253,990,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,313,000 after acquiring an additional 554,606 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,633,000 after acquiring an additional 227,608 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,162,000 after acquiring an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,267,000 after purchasing an additional 200,588 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $81.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.21 and a 1 year high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

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.