Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 25,140 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 66.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,140 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after acquiring an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,156,000 after acquiring an additional 431,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $122.86 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $124.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.50 and a 200-day moving average of $104.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

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.