Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after purchasing an additional 72,696 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,829,000 after purchasing an additional 302,164 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.25.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.03. 2,098,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,500,283. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.95 and a 12 month high of $128.52. The firm has a market cap of $38.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

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.