1834 Investment Advisors Co. Acquires Shares of 2,357 Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,294 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 200.5% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 10,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 6,958 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $86.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.69 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.76 and its 200 day moving average is $81.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is -320.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.