SageView Advisory Group LLC Purchases 492 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $588,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 91,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,816,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $350,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $100.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.30.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.