Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 15,695 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Prudential Financial worth $50,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $0.73 on Monday, reaching $118.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,301,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.44. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.60 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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 raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.33.

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.