B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $2.44 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 9,048 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 473.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 194,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,778,000 after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $84.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.