LRI Investments LLC Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $33,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,315,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,196. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $119.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.46. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $87.95 and a one year high of $128.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.