Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock Holdings Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,578 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Prudential Financial worth $108,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 4,306 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,355.0% during the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 151,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,798,000 after purchasing an additional 145,423 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $118.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. 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 1-year low of $87.57 and a 1-year high of $121.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.15.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.92.

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.