Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $4.21 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 54.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,100 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.12 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.83. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.44 and a one year high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $39.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 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%. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 4.86%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

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.