Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $686,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $209,055,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $157,752,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $140,530,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after buying an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $122.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.53. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The stock has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

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.