Deutsche Bank AG Takes $157.75 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank initiated a $157.75 million position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter, purchasing 1.46 million shares and owning approximately 0.42% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 56.83% of PRU’s shares.
• Wall Street’s consensus view remains cautious: analysts rate PRU “Reduce,” with one Buy, 11 Hold and five Sell ratings, and an average price target of $108.31.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40, equivalent to a $5.60 annual payout and a 4.6% yield.

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,461,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $157,752,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.42% of Prudential Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,092,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Argus cut Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $122.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $127.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.12 and a 200 day moving average of $105.53.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

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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