M&G Plc Makes New $8.52 Million Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 72,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,515,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $555,000. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.3% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zega Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,427,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,839. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.75. The firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.34. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $87.95 and a one year high of $128.52.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.67.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.