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

Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2,210.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.15.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $104.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $36.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.