Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by Bank OZK

Bank OZK raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 46.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,020,000 after purchasing an additional 20,235 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.6% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.3% during the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 14,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.2% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $0.68 on Friday, reaching $110.50. 1,110,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,730. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.75 and its 200-day moving average is $103.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Prudential Financial’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

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.