Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases 215 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,490 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,827 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 178,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,014,000 after purchasing an additional 65,070 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 9,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 298,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,422,000 after purchasing an additional 63,747 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $86.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.39. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.