Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 51.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,256 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Argus lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $107.62.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $125.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.23.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.72%.

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.