Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 476,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,667 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $53,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 982.8% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays downgraded Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $110.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.75.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 1,650 shares of company stock worth $168,841 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $96.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76.

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). The company had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.