Northwest Bancshares Inc. Has $298,000 Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after buying an additional 305,143 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after acquiring an additional 50,026 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,265,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,312,000 after buying an additional 28,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,065,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $124.11 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.60 and a 52 week high of $129.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.56.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Prudential Financial 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.