Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 166,641 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Prudential Financial stake by 4.6% in Q1, buying 166,641 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 3.76 million shares worth about $367.1 million.
• Prudential Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.61 EPS versus the $3.09 estimate and revenue of $15.23 billion versus $14.10 billion expected.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 4.7%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” with a $104.75 target price.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 166,641 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.08% of Prudential Financial worth $367,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $104.75.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $118.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.18. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $120.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

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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