QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $6.51 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,123 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,998,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $30,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock traded down $3.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,085,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,577. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.