Commerce Bank Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 18,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5,733.3% in the 1st quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 17th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $111.59 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.71 and its 200 day moving average is $101.74. The firm has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $116.61.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.