Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,128 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after purchasing an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,552,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after buying an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $36,298,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Evercore cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.11.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $102.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.41. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jacques Chappuis acquired 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,970. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.