Maridea Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.