Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 22,107 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $114.97 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.24 and a 200-day moving average of $104.04.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Company 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.