EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.75 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $116.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.