Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by CX Institutional

CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,751 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

PRU stock opened at $117.75 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.68 and a 200-day moving average of $120.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.31.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.