Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,349,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,468 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $107,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFG. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 58,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 19,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 8,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 5,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

PFG stock opened at $82.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.33. The company has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $90.31.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.90.

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.