South Plains Financial Inc. Takes $121,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,700,000 after acquiring an additional 105,089 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 30,437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PRU opened at $101.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.31%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.