Legato Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,689 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 982.8% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4%

PRU stock opened at $102.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.56. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

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.