Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 62,578 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 926,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,578 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $108,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $118.51 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.57 and a 12 month high of $121.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.15. The firm has a market cap of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

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.