Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 117.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 468,336 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 252,493 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.21% of Principal Financial Group worth $41,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 315.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $97.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.59. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.54 and a fifty-two week high of $98.44.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.44.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.