Fifth Third Bancorp Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,968 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Arvest Investments Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 15,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 35,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,987,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at $328,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 69,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,769,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock traded up $1.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $104.78. The stock had a trading volume of 599,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,819,427. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $103.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.