Ameriflex Group Inc. Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,700,000 after buying an additional 105,089 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 10,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $102.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

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.