Cibc World Market Inc. Acquires Shares of 43,384 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 43,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,676,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,302,000. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $1,103,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,799,000. PEAK6 LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,398,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.59 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $116.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.71 and a 200-day moving average of $101.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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.