State of Wisconsin Investment Board boosted its position in Principal Financial Group Inc (NYSE:PFG) by 53.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,930 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned about 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $11,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,276.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,714,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,117,969,000 after buying an additional 16,969,140 shares during the period. Janus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 399.3% in the first quarter. Janus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,379,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,193,000 after buying an additional 1,903,190 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,649,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,871,204,000 after buying an additional 1,862,125 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 745.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 401,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,321,000 after buying an additional 353,787 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 30.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,499,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,663,000 after buying an additional 349,372 shares during the period. 70.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) opened at 62.87 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group Inc has a one year low of $47.50 and a one year high of $67.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.69.
Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.09. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group Inc will post $5.18 earnings per share for the current year.
Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 17th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 41.82%.
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A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. BidaskClub lowered Principal Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays PLC boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.67.
In related news, EVP Gary P. Scholten sold 13,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $904,165.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nora Mary Everett sold 8,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.52, for a total transaction of $552,624.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 345,538 shares of company stock worth $22,435,450. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Principal Financial Group Company Profile
Principal Financial Group, Inc is an investment management company. The Company offers a range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance. Its segments include Retirement and Income Solutions; Principal Global Investors, Principal International; U.S. Insurance Solutions, and Corporate.
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