Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 33.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,437 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $54,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 79.5% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 9,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of PRU traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.83. 3,234,993 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,506,202. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.60 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $124.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.33.

Prudential Financial Company 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.