Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 83.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,173 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 71.1% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 5,412 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 117.1% during the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 10,404 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,783,000 after buying an additional 76,461 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,285,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.0% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,291,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU stock opened at $101.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.53.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period last year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

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.