Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Amundi boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 378,266 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.43% of Prudential Financial worth $181,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 49.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 5,825 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $385,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.35 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.53 and a 200 day moving average of $119.78. 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 $39.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Prudential Financial’s 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.