Sei Investments Co. Has $4.34 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,184 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,872 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $273,276,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244,668 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,800,000 after purchasing an additional 776,997 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $114.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.73. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.33 and a 12 month high of $116.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.