Verus Capital Partners LLC Invests $202,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 15,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 102,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $30,226,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 73.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. TD Cowen raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $115.07 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $41.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.