Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $872,000 Stock Position in Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK)

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,723 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential were worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in Prudential by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 114,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 22,003 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential during the 4th quarter worth $169,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential during the 4th quarter worth $1,355,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Prudential by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,554,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after buying an additional 968,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Prudential by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,076 shares in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Prudential in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prudential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Prudential Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE PUK opened at $20.25 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.51. Prudential plc has a 12 month low of $14.39 and a 12 month high of $22.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.00.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.3258 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential’s previous dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Prudential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.02%.

Prudential Company Profile

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.