Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after purchasing an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,552,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after buying an additional 351,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth about $36,298,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Joseph J. Wolk acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.78.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $100.90 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $119.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.40.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.00%.

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.