Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 463,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,928 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $54,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,878,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in 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 valued at $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $76,303,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after purchasing an additional 378,266 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 8.1 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $96.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.63. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.73 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company 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.