Bank OZK Has $700,000 Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Bank OZK raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth about $34,251,000. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,829,000 after purchasing an additional 302,164 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 39.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,004,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,278,000 after purchasing an additional 282,667 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 80.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 562,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,411,000 after purchasing an additional 251,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,730. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $77.22 and a one year high of $118.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.73.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.