PDS Planning Inc Takes $206,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 50,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $112.05 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $118.69. The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.52 and a 200-day moving average of $103.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

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.