Orca Investment Management LLC Takes $2.60 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,000. Prudential Financial makes up approximately 1.9% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $972,000. SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $9,746,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $215,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 325,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,105,000 after purchasing an additional 26,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $125.05 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72. The firm has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.94 and a 200 day moving average of $105.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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 stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Argus cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $107.62.

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.