Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Acquires 565 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 71.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after acquiring an additional 36,599 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 46.8% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,020,000 after acquiring an additional 20,235 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,112,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,054 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

PRU opened at $108.70 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.69. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.94.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.