Versor Investments LP Trims Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has reduced its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. by 14.7%, now holding approximately $2.69 million worth of the stock.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Meeder Asset Management Inc. and Clearstead Trust LLC, have either increased their stakes or newly invested in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter, contributing to an overall institutional ownership of 56.83%.
• Prudential Financial's stock is currently rated as a "Hold" by most analysts, with a consensus price target of $121.75, reflecting a range of expectations from analysts.

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,165 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial accounts for about 0.4% of Versor Investments LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,923,000 after buying an additional 860,239 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $404,230,000 after acquiring an additional 352,335 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 topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU traded up $0.8170 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $107.0670. The stock had a trading volume of 1,537,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,694. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.