Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,632 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.89. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.92 and a twelve month high of $129.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is 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.