4,280 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Bought by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company's stock worth $120,577,000 after acquiring an additional 18,801 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,293,000 after acquiring an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 665,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,509,000 after buying an additional 125,198 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company's stock worth $43,367,000 after buying an additional 146,473 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PFG traded down $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $86.58. The stock had a trading volume of 791,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,528,379. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.12.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost 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 3.47%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.