Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.
A number of brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.46.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Prudential Financial
In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.
Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.82. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.44 and a 1-year high of $130.55.
Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.61%.
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.
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