Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 33.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,437 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 235.4% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.33.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $117.83 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.60 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.40. The company has a market cap of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

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.