Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $101.49 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.42. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $35.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.77.

About Prudential Financial

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.