Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 107,328 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 107,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,730,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.92.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

PRU stock traded down $1.59 on Friday, reaching $96.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 871,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.72. The firm has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.