Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 82,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,774,000 after acquiring an additional 9,196 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 3,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 258,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,692,000 after acquiring an additional 24,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 555,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,186,000 after acquiring an additional 32,563 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $105.16 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 85.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.75.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.