Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires 11,139 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 38.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,139 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after purchasing an additional 600,482 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $40,552,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after buying an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,298,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE PRU opened at $95.42 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.97 and a 200-day moving average of $106.89. The company has a market cap of $33.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.00%.

About Prudential Financial

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.