California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10,014.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 63,173,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,549,318 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.18% of Prudential Financial worth $6,818,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:PRU opened at $117.64 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $119.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.83. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $109.31.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.