Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the period. Prudential Financial accounts for 1.5% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after acquiring an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 46.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,020,000 after acquiring an additional 20,235 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,500,000 after acquiring an additional 34,054 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Prudential Financial by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 868,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,076,000 after buying an additional 127,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,507,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Pgim Strategic Investments, In bought 1,191,895 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.17 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,056,632 shares in the company, valued at $102,105,427.44. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Pgim Strategic Investments, In acquired 1,191,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.17 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,056,632 shares in the company, valued at $102,105,427.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.60.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,177,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,790. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $77.22 and a one year high of $117.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.15.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.73%.

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.