Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Grows Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 175.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,141 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. VCI Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 117.1% during the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 10,404 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Prudential Financial by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 76,461 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,669.0% in the 4th quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 46,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after purchasing an additional 45,293 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,327 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 846.7% during the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 25,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 23,183 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $112.83 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

Prudential Financial 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.