Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 23,956 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,956 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $26,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at $3,103,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.0% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.16. 1,122,898 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,382,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day moving average of $107.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.13%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.75.

Prudential Financial 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.