GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $305,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 50,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,813,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.56. The company has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 77.73%.

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.