Foster & Motley Inc. Buys Shares of 40,056 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,323,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First National Bank of Omaha bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,231,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $769,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $593,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $256,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $3,507,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:PRU opened at $124.55 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $42.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.78 and a 200-day moving average of $105.44.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $107.77.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.