Forsta AP Fonden Trims Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.0%, selling 28,000 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 119,000 shares valued at approximately $13.29 million.
• Prudential Financial reported earnings of $3.58 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.22, with revenues reaching $13.50 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 5.2%.

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $13,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $404,230,000 after purchasing an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,706,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,279,000 after purchasing an additional 97,406 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,476,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,051,000 after purchasing an additional 52,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $103.31. 2,000,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,780,626. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRU. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.