VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 192,162 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 192,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,740,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Orca Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,605,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 108,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,198,000 after buying an additional 33,932 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,621,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 897,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,321,000 after buying an additional 89,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 379.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,884,000 after buying an additional 490,553 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $122.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.98.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

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.