Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 74,602 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1,198.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,602 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.1% during the 4th 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $102.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.21 and a 200 day moving average of $115.83. The firm has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company’s revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.