National Bank of Canada FI Has $48,000 Stake in Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) by 52.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Prudential were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PUK. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential during the 4th quarter worth about $305,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Prudential by 1,133.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,051,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,757,000 after buying an additional 965,985 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Prudential by 321.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,236,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,713,000 after buying an additional 943,487 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $469,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 227,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 17,878 shares during the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Price Performance

Shares of Prudential stock opened at $19.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.47. Prudential plc has a fifty-two week low of $14.39 and a fifty-two week high of $22.01. The firm has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.00.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.3258 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential’s previous dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Prudential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PUK shares. StockNews.com upgraded Prudential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Prudential in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Prudential

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.