Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Increases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $28,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 77,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,149,000 after buying an additional 4,464 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PRU stock traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,276,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,162. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $106.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.22. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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