Benin Management CORP Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Benin Management CORP grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Prudential Financial comprises about 0.5% of Benin Management CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth about $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,192,000 after purchasing an additional 567,571 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $28,579,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,571,000 after purchasing an additional 216,119 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.4%

PRU opened at $101.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.12. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.27.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.