Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 94,819 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 432,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,819 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $44,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,428,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.4% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 17,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 218,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at $176,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,105.8% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $94.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $119.76. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.81.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PRU. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $115.22.

About Prudential Financial

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.