Strs Ohio Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,150,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,859,000 after acquiring an additional 116,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,230,000 after acquiring an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,201,000 after buying an additional 95,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Prudential Financial by 14.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,571,000 after buying an additional 216,119 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4%

PRU opened at $105.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.