Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 7,082 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,082 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $22,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $121.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.30. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $122.57.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

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.