ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Buys New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 111,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,258,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 1,843.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 25,415 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,395,000 after buying an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 48.4% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 11,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 7.2 %

PRU opened at $104.65 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.45 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PRU. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.08.

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.