State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.48. The stock had a trading volume of 19,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,150. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.21 and a 1 year high of $88.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.76 and a 200 day moving average of $80.84. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

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.