Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock Position Raised by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 649,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,961 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $55,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 656,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,685,000 after buying an additional 20,866 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 20,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.33% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.5 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $82.19 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $76.90 and a one year high of $122.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.86, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.41.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.15). Prudential Financial had a negative net margin of 2.33% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -126.90%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total value of $1,151,334.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.