Orca Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 28,885 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased 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 firm purchased 28,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,424,000. Prudential Financial accounts for approximately 3.1% of Orca Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lifted 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, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $121.12 on Wednesday. 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 50 day moving average price of $121.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued 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 net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.