Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Raises Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,880 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $30,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after buying an additional 520,425 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,912,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,894,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $108.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.