Capital Management Corp VA Trims Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Capital Management Corp VA reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 14.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 101,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,490 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for 1.5% of Capital Management Corp VA’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Capital Management Corp VA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 319.3% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 499 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $81.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.69 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. 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 (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 earned $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

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.