Hardy Reed LLC Acquires 98 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.92 and a 52 week high of $129.69.

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, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share 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 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRU. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Company 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.