Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 89,652 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 686.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,652 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $12,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after buying an additional 5,154,865 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,926,000 after purchasing an additional 388,363 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,237,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,027,000 after purchasing an additional 34,160 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $113,478,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,003,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,080,000 after buying an additional 4,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $113.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.30. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $87.95 and a one year high of $128.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus raised shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.