AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 25,063 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,240,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,063 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $147,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after acquiring an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd 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, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after buying an additional 50,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.17 and a 200-day moving average of $119.95.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.46.

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.