Gentry Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Gentry Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,072.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 72,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,734,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,311,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,154,000 after purchasing an additional 29,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.7 %

PFG opened at $77.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $88.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.91 and its 200-day moving average is $80.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group 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.