Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 69.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,705 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $19,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 203,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,642,000 after buying an additional 22,588 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after buying an additional 5,129 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 235.4% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU stock opened at $110.54 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.44 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.81.

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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid 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 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

About Prudential Financial

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.