Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $11,207,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. Finally, Burnham & Co LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $81,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $111.89 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $116.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

About Principal Financial Group

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.