Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Increases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 136,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,509,000 after buying an additional 8,078 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 8,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $110.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year high of $130.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.