Groupe la Francaise Acquires 15,528 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 18.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $10,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 17,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 7.2% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 4,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 21.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 293,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,724,000 after buying an additional 15,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.50.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.96 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $128.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its 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 16.98% and a net margin of 4.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.18%.

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.