Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,874,000 after buying an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 10,529.7% during the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 155,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,004,000 after purchasing an additional 154,050 shares during the period. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2,355.0% during the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 151,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,798,000 after purchasing an additional 145,423 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PRU opened at $127.37 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.49. The firm has a market cap of $45.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.30.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.