Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 15,771 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,771 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of Principal Financial Group worth $9,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 9,933 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $771,000. Columbus Macro LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 25,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 8,169 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 12,933 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,480,000 after purchasing an additional 141,447 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 equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $83.06 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $91.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day moving average is $83.66. The stock has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.