Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.58%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by 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.