Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1,841.2% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $105.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.83. The company has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its 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. The company 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 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company’s revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.13%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.75.

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.