Nykredit A S Purchases New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 90,185 shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter, valued at approximately $9.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of PRU.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating, 10 Hold ratings, five Sell ratings, and an average price target of $109.31—below the reported share price of $118.44.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, equivalent to a 4.7% annualized yield.

Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 90,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,734,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 6,877 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.4% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 91,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,915,000 after purchasing an additional 4,702 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $20,740,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,900.0% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.4% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PRU opened at $118.44 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $120.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About Prudential Financial

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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