Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Bought by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15,878.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,517 shares during the period. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.1%

PRU opened at $100.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.41. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Nine 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 a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Company 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.