Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.56 Million Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $30,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU traded down $1.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.96. The stock had a trading volume of 76,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,365. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $121.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.29 and a one year high of $129.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.85.

About Prudential Financial

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 Life, and International Businesses segments.