Rakuten Securities Inc. Buys 846 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 12,085.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 846 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $106.16 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.15 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued 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 forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.