Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 64,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,977,000 after acquiring an additional 13,010 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 12.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 108.2% during the second quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 97,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,431,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 283,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,501,000 after purchasing an additional 108,052 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $115.89.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $123.88. The firm has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 4.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company 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.