Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) EVP Caroline Feeney Acquires 125 Shares

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) EVP Caroline Feeney bought 125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $115.90 per share, with a total value of $14,487.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,410 shares in the company, valued at $1,322,419. This represents a 1.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE PRU opened at $110.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.05. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.45 and a 12 month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PRU. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

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.