Man Group plc Sells 761,281 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Man Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 86.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 761,281 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $13,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after buying an additional 210,959 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after buying an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,089,000 after acquiring an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

PRU stock opened at $120.43 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The company has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $109.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

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.