Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.2%, owning approximately 4.2 million shares worth about $469.78 million as of the last quarter.
• Prudential Financial's stock has recently faced declines, down 3.2% with a current trading price of $100.72, compared to a twelve-month high of $130.55.
• Prudential announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, yielding approximately 5.4%, with the payout ratio currently at 119.73%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.19% of Prudential Financial worth $469,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at $72,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 112.5% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 14,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 36,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,052,000 after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at $212,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $2.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.29. 1,996,535 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,752,058. The company's 50 day moving average price is $104.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.75. The firm has a market cap of $36.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.75.

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.