Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 357,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $38,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,859,000 after acquiring an additional 116,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,201,000 after acquiring an additional 95,021 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,571,000 after acquiring an additional 216,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,449,000 after acquiring an additional 29,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $99.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.40. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.27.

Prudential Financial 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.