Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,557 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,754 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Principal Financial Group worth $9,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 290,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,997,000 after purchasing an additional 64,915 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 36.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 116,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,996,000 after buying an additional 30,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,356,000 after buying an additional 130,225 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 63,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,429,000 after acquiring an additional 13,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $85.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.21 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.97 and a 200 day moving average of $82.70.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.