Voleon Capital Management LP Takes $634,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP invested approximately $634,000 in Prudential Financial, acquiring 5,680 shares in the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Prudential Financial recently reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and declared a $1.35 quarterly dividend with a dividend yield of 5.1%.
• Institutional investors now own 56.83% of Prudential Financial stock, marking a trend of increasing institutional investment in the company.

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.8% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 443,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,369. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $105.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 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.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Prudential Financial

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.