Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Buys 3,179 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 57.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,179 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $117.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $42.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.51 and a 1 year high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 88.44%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.