Empirical Finance LLC Buys 142 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 58,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,022,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $86.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.37 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.18, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.23.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -320.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

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.