Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the fourth 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 16,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.01 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.00.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.