Ellsworth Advisors LLC Buys 949 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial accounts for approximately 1.5% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after purchasing an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,621,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,037,000 after acquiring an additional 36,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Pgim Strategic Investments, In purchased 1,191,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.17 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.15. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,056,632 shares in the company, valued at $102,105,427.44. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Pgim Strategic Investments, In acquired 1,191,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.17 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,056,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,105,427.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $117.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,177,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,790. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $117.92. The company has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.15.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.60.

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.