Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 25,200 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden significantly increased its stake in Prudential Financial during the first quarter, buying 25,200 additional shares and lifting its position by 80.9% to 56,341 shares worth about $5.5 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to PRU, and institutions now own 56.83% of the company’s stock, showing continued professional interest in the insurer.
• Prudential recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.61 per share on revenue of $15.23 billion, while analysts remain cautious with an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.92.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 80.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Platform Technology Partners increased its position in Prudential Financial by 36.4% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 268.8% in the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 20,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 14,942 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 56,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 59,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 77,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $101.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $112.83 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.06. The company has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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