Sciencast Management LP Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 170.6%, acquiring an additional 4,135 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,559 shares worth $733,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have also made significant changes to their investments in Prudential Financial, with Meeder Asset Management and AlphaQuest increasing their holdings by 90.2% and 12,250.0% respectively.
• Prudential Financial's recent earnings report for Q2 showed an earnings per share of $3.58, exceeding analyst expectations, despite a 2.5% decline in year-over-year revenue.

Sciencast Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 170.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,135 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,859,000 after buying an additional 116,079 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,777,000 after buying an additional 678,028 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 11.5% in 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 valued at $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in 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 period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,571,000 after buying an additional 216,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE PRU traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.94. 1,628,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,752,105. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $37.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.56. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. Prudential Financial's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

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.