Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 770 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $111.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $39.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.70.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.