Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Purchased by Saudi Central Bank

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Prudential Financial stake by 88.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 11,428 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 24,347 shares valued at approximately $2.63 million.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with one Buy, eleven Hold, and five Sell ratings. The stock carries an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $109.31.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and declared a $1.40 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.6% annualized yield.

Saudi Central Bank boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 88.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,428 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $610,000. NI Acquisitions Company LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $124,000. NBH Bank acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $453,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 26.2% in the second quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd now owns 4,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William John Sempolinski acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $122.06 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $119.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial 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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