Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,078,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 982.8% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $100.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.47.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.