Empowered Funds LLC Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $300,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $77,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 72.9% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 3,543 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.6% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $126.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.99 and a fifty-two week high of $129.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.61. The company has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.