Bridgewater Associates LP Has $46.03 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,459 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.11% of Prudential Financial worth $46,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $101.49 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.42. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $35.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.