Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Holdings Increased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,945 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $88.60.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $79.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.37 and its 200-day moving average is $78.69.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.