Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,700,000 after purchasing an additional 105,089 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,294,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $104.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.92. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.