Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 17,210 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,210 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 158,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,464,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its position in Prudential Financial by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, reaching $116.72. 1,086,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,521,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.48 and a 200 day moving average of $104.78. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.87 and a 52 week high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.08.

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.