Waycross Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Waycross Partners LLC has acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, purchasing 2,755 shares valued at approximately $296,000.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 56.83% of Prudential Financial's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Prudential Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.2%.

Waycross Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,859,000 after purchasing an additional 116,079 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,201,000 after purchasing an additional 95,021 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,571,000 after purchasing an additional 216,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,449,000 after purchasing an additional 29,025 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, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted 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 note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $103.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.08.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $13.50 billion during 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 was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.

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