17,103 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Purchased by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,774,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Prudential Financial by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,192,000 after buying an additional 567,571 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $40,552,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after acquiring an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $102.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.41. The company has a market capitalization of $35.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $119.76. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 54.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.25% 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.