Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $54.94 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 463,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,928 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of Prudential Financial worth $54,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock traded down $5.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $98.70. 433,084 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,175. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.