ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 91,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,910 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $10,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 3,824 shares in the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,424,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 43,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after buying an additional 10,751 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $107.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

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.