Empirical Finance LLC Buys 142 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 58,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $86.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.37 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.23.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -320.00%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.