Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 85,593 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 273,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 85,593 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $33,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after buying an additional 305,143 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after purchasing an additional 50,026 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,265,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,312,000 after purchasing an additional 28,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Argus raised Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.92 and a twelve month high of $129.69. The firm has a market cap of $45.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

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.