Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 47,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,961,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 8.4% during the second quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 80.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.78.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE PRU opened at $108.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $38.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.23. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $123.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.18%.

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.