Abel Hall LLC Takes $333,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of 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 worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 37,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $113.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,065,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.09 and its 200-day moving average is $109.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.34 and a fifty-two week high of $121.39. The company has a market capitalization of $40.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.35.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 88.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.25.

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.