Tidal Investments LLC Purchases 15,378 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Tidal Investments increased its Prudential Financial stake by 25.7% in the second quarter, adding 15,378 shares to hold 75,277 shares valued at approximately $8.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 56.83%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, BlackRock, State Street, Geode Capital Management and Morgan Stanley.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with an average “Reduce” rating and a $109.31 price target, despite Prudential exceeding quarterly EPS estimates and offering a 4.7% dividend yield.

Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,378 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Prudential Financial by 10,014.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,173,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,818,360,000 after purchasing an additional 62,549,318 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after buying an additional 210,959 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after buying an additional 26,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,562,000 after buying an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $119.18 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.38. The company has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.

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