Principle Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 43,800 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Principle Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 43,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5%

PRU opened at $124.54 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $127.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.36 and a 200-day moving average of $105.33. The stock has a market cap of $42.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $107.77.

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.