Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Purchases 846 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 22.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,571 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 846 shares during the quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 61,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 18.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 47,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 190.5% in the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 54,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 35,492 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $84.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $90.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average is $80.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.00%.

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.