Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stake Boosted by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

PRU opened at $110.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.06. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 77.73%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.