Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,665 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.6% in the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,847,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $103.08 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $105.26 and a 200-day moving average of $104.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Prudential Financial 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.