Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 192 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 64.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $58,000 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 PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after buying an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 97.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after buying an additional 305,143 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $119.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.33.

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.