AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 97.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Prudential Financial worth $84,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $120.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.55. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The company has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.78 billion. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.83.

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.