13,536 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,536 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $9,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $2,581,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,157,181,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $741,960,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $47,220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $115.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.00 and a 52-week high of $121.18. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.39 and its 200 day moving average is $104.18.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 37.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.75.

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.

Principal serves customers in the United States and internationally, with operations spanning markets in Latin America and Asia.