SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 572,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,812,000 after acquiring an additional 213,505 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 21,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 40,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $110.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.80. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.44 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 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%. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

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.