Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $2.82 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,112,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,054 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:PRU traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.76. 1,126,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,516,036. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.52 and a 200 day moving average of $103.50. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PRU shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.