Prudential PLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 124,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,867 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $14,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $140,530,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after purchasing an additional 520,425 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after purchasing an additional 351,849 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $37,912,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $32,894,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $104.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its 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. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

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.