First National Bank of Omaha Acquires Shares of 80,500 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 80,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,152,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PRU. Zacks Research cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $108.38 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.53 and a 200-day moving average of $104.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.