National Pension Service Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Prudential Financial stake by 4.4% in the second quarter, reaching 840,126 shares valued at approximately $90.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of the company.
• Prudential reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing analysts’ $3.52 estimate, while revenue came in at $14.15 billion. The company also paid a $1.40 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.7% annualized yield.
• Despite several analysts raising their price targets, the stock’s consensus rating remains “Reduce”, with 11 Hold, five Sell, and one Buy rating and an average target price of $109.31.

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 840,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,677 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.24% of Prudential Financial worth $90,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10,014.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,173,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,818,360,000 after acquiring an additional 62,549,318 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,945,381,000 after buying an additional 210,959 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after acquiring an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,562,000 after purchasing an additional 420,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of PRU opened at $119.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.83. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $127.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.

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