PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 125,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,860 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $14,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.12 on Friday. 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 $36.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $119.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.80 and a 200-day moving average of $104.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PRU. Zacks Research cut Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Company 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.