Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 7,334 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $761,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,452,000 after buying an additional 57,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two research 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 company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

PRU opened at $117.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.34 and a fifty-two week high of $121.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.28 and a 200-day moving average of $110.08.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.