Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Position Lifted by Orca Wealth Management LLC

Orca Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial makes up approximately 2.9% of Orca Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Orca Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,239 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,287,000 after purchasing an additional 542,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,230,000 after purchasing an additional 352,335 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PRU opened at $103.46 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 5.22%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 85.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.