Live Oak Investment Partners Purchases Shares of 6,555 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.0% during the third quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 565.2% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,344,000 after acquiring an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $116.42 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $123.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.98 and a 200-day moving average of $107.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $17.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.77 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,719 shares of company stock valued at $6,796,067. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.80.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.