Farringdon Capital Ltd. Buys New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $181,851,000 after buying an additional 378,266 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

PRU traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $102.18. 565,171 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,599,824. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.56. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.