30,281 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Bought by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,253,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.27.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $99.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.04.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.