Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,071,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $115,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 70,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 23,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.73.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:PRU opened at $106.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.74. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 74.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate 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.