Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 17,558 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 6.5%, acquiring an additional 17,558 shares to own a total of 287,007 shares worth $32 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Prudential Financial reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.18, but its revenue was down 38.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, representing a 5.13% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 85.58%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 287,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,558 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of Prudential Financial worth $32,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after acquiring an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% during the fourth 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 worth $404,230,000 after purchasing an additional 352,335 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,706,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,279,000 after purchasing an additional 97,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,476,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,051,000 after purchasing an additional 52,010 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.75.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE PRU traded up $2.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $104.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,201,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,308. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $104.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The company 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 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

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.