Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $1.34 Million Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 12,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,342,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $2,157,181,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,473,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% during the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 47,316 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,277,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,603,000 after acquiring an additional 23,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $112.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $116.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.67.

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.