Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 68,964 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 858,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,964 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Prudential Financial worth $95,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,513,000 after acquiring an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,923,000 after purchasing an additional 860,239 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,303,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 322.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,287,000 after acquiring an additional 542,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,153,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $103.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.15.

Insider Activity

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

About Prudential Financial

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.