Horizon Investments LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. Amundi lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after buying an additional 378,266 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $110.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.18. The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.45 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

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.