Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,159 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Prudential Financial worth $21,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 580.0% in the 1st quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.27. The stock had a trading volume of 634,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,662. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The firm has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.36.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Prudential Financial

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.