Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $117.32 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.71. The company has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 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 the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.