Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 62.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,293 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $76,303,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,998,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 4.5 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $106.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.72. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.45 and a 12 month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

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.