Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $6.45 Million in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 54,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $76,303,000. Amundi increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after buying an additional 378,266 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd 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, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $109.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month high of $130.55. 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 50 day moving average of $113.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.24.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

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.