Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 574,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,735 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.16% of Prudential Financial worth $67,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 9.8% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 486,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,962,000 after buying an additional 12,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 385.7% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.83.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $116.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.99. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.95 and a 1 year high of $128.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.