CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 68.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 82,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,614 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 183.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after buying an additional 520,425 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% in 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. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,912,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $32,894,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of PRU opened at $104.67 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.54 and a 200 day moving average of $104.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.