Quartz Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Quartz Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its position in Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after acquiring an additional 50,026 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $109.45 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.88 and a 200 day moving average of $119.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on 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 Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

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.