AQR Capital Management LLC Has $46.79 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. by 72.8%, acquiring an additional 178,888 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 424,659 shares valued at approximately $46.8 million.
• Prudential Financial recently reported earnings of $3.58 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, although revenue showed a year-over-year decline of 2.5%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 5.1%, set to be paid on September 11th to investors of record on August 19th.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 72.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 424,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 178,888 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Prudential Financial worth $46,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 728.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,373,000 after buying an additional 44,937 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $1.15 on Thursday, hitting $106.82. 658,825 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,747,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.72 and a 200 day moving average of $105.59.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.