Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,237 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $76,303,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,287,000 after purchasing an additional 542,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,851,000 after purchasing an additional 378,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $107.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 85.58%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.