Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 18,618 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 48.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,618 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after acquiring an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,230,000 after purchasing an additional 352,335 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,706,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,279,000 after purchasing an additional 97,406 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,476,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,051,000 after purchasing an additional 52,010 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $105.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.75. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company’s revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.75.

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.