MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Buys New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,098,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $120.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.17. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.