Short Interest in Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) Declines By 15.1%

Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a decline of 15.1% from the February 28th total of 1,520,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 984,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Prudential in the 4th quarter worth about $16,207,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Prudential by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,554,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 968,317 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Prudential by 1,133.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,051,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,757,000 after purchasing an additional 965,985 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential by 321.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,236,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,713,000 after purchasing an additional 943,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Prudential by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 629,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,035,000 after purchasing an additional 303,783 shares during the period. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Prudential Stock Performance

Shares of PUK stock traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.91. 1,309,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,014,472. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.21. Prudential has a one year low of $14.39 and a one year high of $22.01. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $18.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.33.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.3258 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential's previous dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Prudential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Prudential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

Prudential Company Profile

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.