BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 32,497,736 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 32.5 million Prudential Financial shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $3.51 billion and representing about 9.37% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of PRU.
• Prudential reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, beating analysts’ $3.52 estimate, while revenue of $14.15 billion fell slightly short of expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, equivalent to $5.60 annually and a 4.5% yield. Despite several analyst price-target increases, PRU carries a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average target of $107.77.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 32,497,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,507,481,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.37% of Prudential Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,055,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $157,752,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,206,000 after acquiring an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $124.55 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $115.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $42.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $107.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Prudential Financial

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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