Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 388,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,031,000 after buying an additional 114,459 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,954,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 167,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,837,000 after buying an additional 68,705 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.6% during the first quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 189,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,620 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $104.31 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.09. The firm has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.15.

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.