Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Acquires New Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third 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 period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,120,000 after buying an additional 50,026 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $122.44 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.60 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.22%.

Prudential Financial 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.