Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Holdings Raised by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during 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 buying an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,237,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,027,000 after buying an additional 34,160 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,025,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,181,000 after acquiring an additional 82,620 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 926,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,788,000 after purchasing an additional 62,578 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.91. 152,013 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,486,078. The firm has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 0.97 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.41. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.95 and a 12 month high of $128.52.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.28 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, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.69.

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.