Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $4.85 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its Prudential Financial stake by 51.3% in the second quarter, selling 47,256 shares and retaining 44,896 shares valued at approximately $4.85 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PRU has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, eleven Hold and five Sell ratings, and an average price target of $107.62.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 47,256 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $107.62.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $125.05 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $114.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.23. The firm has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same period last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Prudential Financial Company 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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