514 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Purchased by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.94 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.45 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.09 and a 200 day moving average of $118.98. 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 has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid 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 was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.