GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 230 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

GAMMA Investing LLC trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $3,269,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $943,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $81.50 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $86.90.

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.