Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Stock Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,593,000 after purchasing an additional 209,179 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,089,000 after purchasing an additional 166,641 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $209,055,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research cut Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Evercore decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $112.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Prudential Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Prudential Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings beat estimates by 13.9%, supported by PGIM and U.S. protection. Annuity sales also reached a 13-year high, highlighting strength in a key business. Zacks earnings analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $133, while keeping a neutral rating. Prudential also expects its Japan units to resume operations on February 1 and is targeting about $3.1 billion in net proceeds from the sale of its Brazil and Mexico businesses. Piper Sandler rating Japan operations and divestiture
• Neutral Sentiment: The planned Japan restart and asset sale could help simplify Prudential’s business, but the proceeds and timing remain forward-looking and do not immediately resolve the earnings impact from the suspension.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of estimates, and the Japan suspension weighed on results, including a reported $191 million income impact and a $1.3 billion Japan-related cost. These headwinds may be offsetting the earnings beat. Japan suspension and annuity sales
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analyst signals may also be weighing on sentiment: Barclays maintained an underweight rating despite lifting its target to $98, and Zacks placed PRU on its Strong Sell list. Barclays rating Zacks Strong Sell list

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:PRU opened at $122.27 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $128.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.44. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.96%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc (NYSE: PRU) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1875, the company serves individuals, businesses and institutional investors through a range of businesses and distribution channels.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, including group life, disability and dental insurance.