52,764 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 52,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,155,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $119.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $108.91 and a 200-day moving average of $104.36. The company has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $120.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.