Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 27.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,579 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $79.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.45.

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). 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently -324.44%.

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.