Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group acquired 62,643 Prudential Financial shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $6.76 million. Other major institutions, including BlackRock, Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank, also initiated positions; institutions own 56.83% of PRU.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $109.31, despite several target increases. PRU recently traded at $119.80, near its 52-week high of $127.72.
• Prudential reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, representing a 4.7% annualized yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 62,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,761,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,507,481,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,055,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at about $208,957,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $157,752,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $119.80 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $117.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.27. The stock has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PRU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source