Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 220,671 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220,671 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Prudential Financial worth $4,960,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $319,000. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $14,348,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 62,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

PRU opened at $113.35 on Tuesday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.00. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $40.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.