Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,917,000 after acquiring an additional 20,221 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,080,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,128,000 after acquiring an additional 17,969 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 34.2% during the first quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 893,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,363,000 after acquiring an additional 227,836 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PFG opened at $78.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 62.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $88.60.

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.