Summit Global Investments Purchases 5,412 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 71.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,412 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 312.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth about $5,856,000. Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,662,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 384,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,878,000 after buying an additional 85,072 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 40,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,176,000 after buying an additional 9,741 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $111.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.77 and its 200-day moving average is $107.32. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $122.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $38.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 74.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,719 shares of company stock valued at $6,796,067. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.78.

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.