KBC Group NV Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 197.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 469,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 311,640 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $45,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE PRU opened at $117.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $40.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $120.53.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.