Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 322.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 711,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 542,964 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.20% of Prudential Financial worth $84,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in 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% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.7% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.41. 202,510 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,597,144. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $107.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.68. The company has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.