KBC Group NV Sells 215,547 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 215,547 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $20,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 143,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,328,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 25,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.3% in the third quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 45,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,554,000 after acquiring an additional 7,423 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business'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 approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PRU traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $127.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,049,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,502,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.22. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.32 and a 1 year high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 46.22%.

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.