Allstate Corp Purchases New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 66,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 88.9% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 35,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,210,000 after purchasing an additional 16,715 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Prudential Financial by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 245,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,081,000 after buying an additional 25,682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $109.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.98.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays raised 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

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.