Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 360.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,654 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2,669.0% in the 4th quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 46,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after buying an additional 45,293 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,327 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $6,545,000. Orca Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,605,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 735,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,801,000 after purchasing an additional 29,720 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PRU shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $121.21 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72. The stock has a market cap of $41.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.71. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

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.