Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 136,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,509,000 after purchasing an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 8,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PRU shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen boosted 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, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $110.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.18.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results 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%. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.