Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Invests $683,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of PRU stock traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $96.98. 274,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,591. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The business's fifty day moving average is $107.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.