Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 7,964 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 117.1% in the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 10,404 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,783,000 after buying an additional 76,461 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 2,669.0% in the 4th quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 46,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after buying an additional 45,293 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,357,000 after buying an additional 14,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $6,545,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $125.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $114.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.23.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $107.62.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.