Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Position Increased by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street increased its Prudential Financial stake by 1.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 17.16 million shares worth approximately $1.85 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of PRU.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding the $3.52 analyst consensus, while revenue of $14.15 billion fell short of estimates. The company maintains a $1.40 quarterly dividend, or $5.60 annually, yielding about 4.8%.
• PRU shares opened at $117.78, down 0.6%, while analyst sentiment remained cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $109.31.

State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 209,179 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 4.98% of Prudential Financial worth $1,852,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,507,481,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $1,078,904,000 after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $367,089,000 after acquiring an additional 166,641 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $209,055,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.6%

PRU stock opened at $117.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $120.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.33. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.