Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,649,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,178 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.76% of Prudential Financial worth $299,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 5,412 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 117.1% during the 4th quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 10,404 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,783,000 after buying an additional 76,461 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,285,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,291,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE PRU opened at $102.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $119.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.56.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.50.

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.