Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $597,000 Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $85.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

Principal Financial Group 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.