Swedbank AB Trims Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Swedbank AB decreased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,869 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $36,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $121.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.66. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.60 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.