BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Decreases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 47.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,033 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 268,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,346,000 after purchasing an additional 82,173 shares during the last quarter. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 104.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 6,220 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 81,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,189,000 after buying an additional 6,585 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $108.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.