SFE Investment Counsel Has $6.06 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Prudential Financial makes up 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,177,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 262,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,083,000 after buying an additional 12,644 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $110.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.02 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial 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 purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.46.

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.