Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Holdings Boosted by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $14,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,391,000. Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,775,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 91,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,910 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 96,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,469,000 after purchasing an additional 16,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 91,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,876,000 after buying an additional 17,498 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of PRU stock traded down $2.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $105.82. 1,350,899 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,206. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $104.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.08.

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.