Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,958 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $12,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 27,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 539.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,706,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,279,000 after purchasing an additional 97,406 shares during the last quarter. AmeriServ Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $302,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, 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 Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $101.18 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.58%.

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.