Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,547 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. VCI Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 117.1% in the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 10,404 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 76,461 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 45,293 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 846.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $108.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.92.

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.