Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 16,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 7,331 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 16,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $111.68 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.02 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.