National Pension Service Buys 4,044 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

National Pension Service increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 596,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,044 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $64,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 19.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 49.2% during 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 period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $28,579,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position 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 valued at $183,571,000 after purchasing an additional 216,119 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.73.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $107.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.67 and its 200 day moving average is $104.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 74.18%.

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.