Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 25,140 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 66.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 63,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,140 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $122.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.41. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $124.57. The firm has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 57.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.