Chase Investment Counsel Corp Purchases 201 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. grew 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $111.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.99. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.69.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.