Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,752 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 62,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,450,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 158,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 178,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,012. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.78. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.87 and a fifty-two week 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 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $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 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.08.

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.