Strategic Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $2,897,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 96.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE PRU opened at $111.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.46.

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.