Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $586,000 Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,820 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 466,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,041,000 after acquiring an additional 215,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $85.73 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.39 and a one year high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.12 and a 200-day moving average of $82.34.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

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.