Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,020,000 after purchasing an additional 20,235 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $2,112,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after acquiring an additional 34,054 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $110.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.30 and a 200-day moving average of $103.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.33.

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.