United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Trims Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.69.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $72.14 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.61.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

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.