Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $66.88 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Prudential Financial stake by 379.8% in the second quarter, acquiring 490,553 additional shares for a total position worth approximately $66.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of the company.
• Prudential reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.52, while revenue reached $14.15 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, equivalent to a 4.6% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”, with one Buy, eleven Hold, and five Sell ratings, and an average price target of $105.46—below its cited market price of $121.34.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 379.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 619,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 490,553 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.18% of Prudential Financial worth $66,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 958,672 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 37.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,156,000 after purchasing an additional 431,527 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $750,562,000 after buying an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $121.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.74. The company has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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