ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,479 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,979,000 after acquiring an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,452 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,621,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,037,000 after buying an additional 36,184 shares during the last quarter. 54.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.73.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $98.69 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $75.37 and a one year high of $110.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.64 and a 200 day moving average of $87.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $35.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.04 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $12.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.68 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 15.73%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 21st. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 166.67%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Annuities, Individual Life, Assurance IQ, and International Businesses segments.