Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $111.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 69.61%.

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.