Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 322.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 542,964 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $84,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 77,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $98.64 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.18. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. 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. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.