Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,603 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,355.0% in the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 151,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,798,000 after acquiring an additional 145,423 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 230,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 71,274 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $761,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.83.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $116.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.95 and a 12 month high of $128.52. The company has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

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.