Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,516 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4,600.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 36.4% during the second quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $118.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.97. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.90. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $123.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $118.60.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,719 shares of company stock valued at $6,796,067. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.