Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 4,306 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP increased its position in Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $117.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.34 and a twelve month high of $121.39.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 4.42%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

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.