Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,833 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth $209,000. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the first quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 5,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $761,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $1,248,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $117.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $42.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.51 and a fifty-two week high of $121.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.70.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PRU shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.