Groupe la Francaise Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.2% during the first quarter, owning 81,986 shares valued at $9.38 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Prudential Financial recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.58, beating analyst estimates of $3.22, while also disclosing a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share.
• Analyst ratings for Prudential Financial include one buy, nine holds, and one sell, with a consensus target price of $122.08.

Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 728.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,373,000 after purchasing an additional 44,937 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.0% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $109.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,217,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,254. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $38.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.Prudential Financial's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.