Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 17,849 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 100,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,849 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,214,000 after buying an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,321,000 after acquiring an additional 291,422 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,629,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $122,778,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,095,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,599,000 after purchasing an additional 7,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $95.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $33.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $113.89.

Prudential Financial 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.