Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,237 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,700,000 after buying an additional 105,089 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.37 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.71 and a 200-day moving average of $113.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Insider Activity

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

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.