Trust Co. of Vermont Buys 572 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $176,000 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 the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 235.4% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $118.98 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.06 and its 200-day moving average is $120.67. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.60 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

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.