Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 51.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after purchasing an additional 378,266 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $102.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.18. The company has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.