Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas

Key Points

• BNP Paribas massively increased its stake in Prudential Financial, boosting its holdings by 15,878.4% in the fourth quarter to 26,684 shares valued at about $3.0 million.
• Institutional interest in PRU remains strong, with several other funds also increasing positions and institutional investors/h​edge funds now owning 56.83% of the company.
• Prudential posted a strong quarter and a hefty dividend, beating earnings and revenue estimates with $3.61 EPS on $15.23 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share for a 5.6% annualized yield.

BNP Paribas grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 15,878.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,517 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. VCI Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 117.1% during the 4th quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 10,404 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,783,000 after buying an additional 76,461 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,285,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,291,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,669.0% in the 4th quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 46,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,342,000 after buying an additional 45,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $100.72 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $119.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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