Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Acquires New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $96.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.63. The firm has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.73 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 5.61%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

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.