Joule Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Joule Financial LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after acquiring an additional 220,671 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $105.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.15.

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.