Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $109.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

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.