J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $2.79 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $111.54 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.44 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.87 and a 200-day moving average of $119.82.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Company 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.