Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $5.35 Million Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,632 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.92 and a 12 month high of $129.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $123.72 and its 200-day moving average is $119.89.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

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.