Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Holdings Boosted by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,402,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,010,474,000 after acquiring an additional 163,874 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,859,000 after acquiring an additional 116,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,817,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PRU. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $108.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 4.65%. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company 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.