Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $33,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 16,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 7,331 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 16,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $111.68 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.02 and a one year high of $130.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.08 and a 200 day moving average of $120.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.