Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its Prudential Financial stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,872 shares and ending with 809,650 shares valued at about $91.4 million.
• Prudential beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $3.61 EPS versus the $3.09 consensus and revenue of $15.23 billion versus $14.10 billion expected.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, implying a 5.5% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate PRU a consensus “Reduce” with a $101.50 price target.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 809,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,872 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Prudential Financial worth $91,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,092,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research lowered Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $101.88 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $97.13 and its 200-day moving average is $104.55. The company has a market cap of $35.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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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