Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial by 19.4%, selling 303,982 shares, and now owns approximately 0.36% of the company valued at $141.47 million.
• Various institutional investors have made significant adjustments to their positions in Prudential, with Invesco and Goldman Sachs increasing their stakes by 2.7% and 19.2%, respectively.
• Prudential Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, which translates to an annualized total of $5.40 and a dividend yield of 5.0%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,266,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 303,982 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.36% of Prudential Financial worth $141,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,859,000 after purchasing an additional 116,079 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11.5% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,201,000 after buying an additional 95,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,449,000 after buying an additional 29,025 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of PRU traded down $3.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,633,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,973. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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, Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Company 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.