Principle Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Principle Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5%

PRU opened at $124.54 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.36 and its 200 day moving average is $105.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 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 research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $107.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.