Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $726,000 Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Prudential Financial by 89.5%, now holding 6,592 shares valued at $726,000.
• Prudential Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.58, exceeding estimates by $0.36, despite a 2.5% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a steep payout ratio of 119.73% and an annualized yield of 5.0%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 89.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,298 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.8% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $107.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $105.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.99.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Company 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.

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