Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,764 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Evercore ISI raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $80.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.04. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group 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.