Polymer Capital Management US LLC Buys New Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after acquiring an additional 193,681 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was 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 Down 8.1 %

PRU stock opened at $96.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.90 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.03 and a 200-day moving average of $118.62.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.08.

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.