National Pension Service Acquires 406,427 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

National Pension Service increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 309.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 537,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 406,427 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of Principal Financial Group worth $57,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,581,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $2,157,181,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 47,316 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,473,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $116.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.54. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $121.18.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.83.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879, the company provides investment management, retirement, insurance and financial wellness solutions to businesses, individuals and institutional investors.

Principal offers employer-sponsored retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit programs, as well as pension risk transfer solutions. Its insurance products and services include group benefits, individual life insurance and disability insurance.