Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,348 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Prudential Financial worth $36,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,801,000 after buying an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,112,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $815,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "c+" rating to an "a-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $119.93. 1,526,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,508,964. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.40 and a 12 month high of $120.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $113.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 164,536 shares of company stock valued at $19,245,606. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.