Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 235.4% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $118.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.60 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.