Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Bell Bank

Bell Bank increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,593 shares during the period. Prudential Financial comprises approximately 0.6% of Bell Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bell Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,327,000 after acquiring an additional 47,561 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after purchasing an additional 50,026 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PRU shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.45 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.62. The firm has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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 forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.