Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 38,952 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,534 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,952 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $11,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $82.03 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.34. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 3.66%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.