Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 213,505 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 59.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 572,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,505 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $67,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,998,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 241.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 214,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,971,000 after acquiring an additional 151,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PRU opened at $110.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.44 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

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.