Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 4,423 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lessened its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,423 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,206,000 after acquiring an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after acquiring an additional 520,425 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after acquiring an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $118.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $120.53.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $104.75.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.