Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 85,480 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,176,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,480 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $131,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 728.4% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 388,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,031,000 after purchasing an additional 114,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.75.

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 that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4%

PRU stock opened at $103.74 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results 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 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

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.