Versor Investments LP Buys 22,304 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 374.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,304 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial makes up approximately 0.6% of Versor Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $29,998,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRU. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.81 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.77. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.