Unigestion Holding SA Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Unigestion Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,090,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,302,000 after buying an additional 57,290 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 284,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,724,000 after acquiring an additional 44,882 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 987,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,085,000 after acquiring an additional 37,848 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 6,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,730,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 8.1 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $96.27 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.73 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.03 and a 200-day moving average of $118.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

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.