Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.4% during the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $125.75 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.06. The company has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.32 and a 12 month high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale 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.