Groupe la Francaise Acquires 6,325 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Groupe la Francaise boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $105.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

PRU opened at $122.86 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $124.57. The company has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.50 and a 200 day moving average of $104.41.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 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.