Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,882 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Prudential Financial worth $33,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after acquiring an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $95.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.44. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.08.

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.