Invesco Ltd. Raises Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7%, now owning approximately 1.25% of the company valued at around $495.9 million.
• Major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential significantly boosted its stock position by acquiring 1,675,978 shares for a total cost of about $48 million, increasing their ownership by over 112%.
• Prudential Financial reported earnings of $3.58 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, along with a recently announced quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 116,079 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.25% of Prudential Financial worth $495,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 350.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $1.94 on Wednesday, reaching $107.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,803,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,804,461. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $104.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.