PFG Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,386,192,000 after buying an additional 5,154,865 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $113,478,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,926,000 after buying an additional 388,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,251,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.94. 1,361,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,906. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.99. The company has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a PEG 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, Inc. has a one year low of $77.22 and a one year high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.