Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Holdings

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,627 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $13,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. XXI Wealth LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. XXI Wealth LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.1% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of PFG opened at $112.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.52. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.00 and a 12 month high of $121.18. The company has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.18 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.33%.

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.