Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 19,600 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 600,482 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,402,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,010,474,000 after acquiring an additional 163,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,817,000 after acquiring an additional 31,088 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,344,000 after acquiring an additional 32,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $122,778,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE PRU opened at $104.58 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $111.87 and its 200 day moving average is $107.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The business had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.11.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,408,139 shares of company stock worth $35,128,697. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.