Fmr LLC Boosts Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fmr LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 0.41% of Prudential Financial worth $174,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25,027 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $128.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.87 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.24 and a 200 day moving average of $120.12.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.