AGF Management Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 158.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,729 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,851,000 after buying an additional 378,266 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $108.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year high of $130.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.31 and its 200-day moving average is $119.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.