Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Raises Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. by 94.1%, owning a total of 7,559 shares valued at approximately $812,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have raised their positions in Prudential Financial, with notable increases from Goldman Sachs (19.2%) and Invesco (2.7%) during the first quarter.
• Prudential Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.2% and a payout ratio of 119.73%.

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 94.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,665 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,859,000 after purchasing an additional 116,079 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $469,777,000 after buying an additional 678,028 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,201,000 after buying an additional 95,021 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,571,000 after buying an additional 216,119 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,449,000 after buying an additional 29,025 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.08.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:PRU opened at $103.08 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $105.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.97. The company has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

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

Prudential Financial Company 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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