United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,545,000. Orca Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,605,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 735,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,801,000 after acquiring an additional 29,720 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 128.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 10,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 108,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 33,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $119.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 2.25 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for 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 last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $109.31.

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.