Savant Capital LLC Acquires 1,824 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154,865 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,237,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,027,000 after buying an additional 34,160 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $113,478,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,003,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,080,000 after buying an additional 4,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 926,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,788,000 after acquiring an additional 62,578 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.83.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of PRU opened at $114.94 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $118.10 and a 200 day moving average of $115.78. The firm has a market cap of $41.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $13.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 4.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.31 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Company 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.