D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $12.61 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 129,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,859 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $12,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after buying an additional 958,672 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 183.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,440,000 after buying an additional 520,425 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after acquiring an additional 351,849 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.6%

PRU opened at $117.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.91 and a 200-day moving average of $104.07. The company has a market capitalization of $40.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.73 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $104.58.

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.