Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Grove Bank & Trust raised 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $120.52 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.60 and a 1 year high of $130.55. 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 moving average price of $120.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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 research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

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.