Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 33,932 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,932 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $12,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $104.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

About Prudential Financial

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.