4,627 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 3.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 124,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,627 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $13,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $2,157,181,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,346,000 after purchasing an additional 85,014 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,721,000 after purchasing an additional 420,319 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,216,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,854,000 after purchasing an additional 244,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFG. Barclays lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $112.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.00 and a 52 week high of $121.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.33%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc. is a financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879 as Bankers Life Association, it later adopted the Principal name and expanded beyond its original insurance business. The company provides retirement and pension solutions, investment management, life and disability insurance, and employee benefits to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients. Its offerings include workplace retirement plans, group benefits, and investment products and services.