71,257 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 71,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,680,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.64 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $111.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.30. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.34 and a 12 month high of $116.61.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.