Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,452,000 after purchasing an additional 57,531 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,273,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,772,000 after acquiring an additional 38,229 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.33.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

PRU stock opened at $111.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.36. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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 return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 4.66%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

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.