Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 154.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,452,000 after purchasing an additional 57,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,273,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,772,000 after acquiring an additional 38,229 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after buying an additional 36,599 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 250,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,676. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.50. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The company has a market capitalization of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Prudential Financial 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.