Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. cut its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 280,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,044 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Principal Financial Group worth $31,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. XXI Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. XXI Wealth LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.1% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $111.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.63. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.00 and a 1 year high of $121.18.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Principal Financial Group Company 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.