Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Lowers Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,887 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,386,192,000 after buying an additional 5,154,865 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,478,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 10.8% in 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 buying an additional 388,363 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $35,855,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 387.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 332,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,475,000 after buying an additional 264,247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Argus raised Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,141,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,747. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.95 and a 52-week high of $128.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.10 and a 200 day moving average of $115.22. 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 has a market cap of $43.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $13.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

About Prudential Financial

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.