North Dakota State Investment Board Buys New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 982.8% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE PRU opened at $101.20 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $35.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.