Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires 54,454 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. by 77.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 54,454 shares for a total of 124,904 shares valued at approximately $13.95 million.
• Prudential Financial reported earnings per share of $3.58 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a decline in revenue of 2.5% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.9% and a payout ratio of approximately 119.73%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 77.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,454 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $13,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,350,000 after buying an additional 7,495 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 15,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 8,245 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1,198.4% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 80,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,580,000 after buying an additional 74,602 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.78. 1,449,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,660,892. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.78. The firm has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Prudential Financial 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.