Meridian Wealth Management LLC Invests $280,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,701,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $156,000. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 64,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,533,000 after buying an additional 31,807 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 80,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after buying an additional 26,520 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $530,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $128.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.82. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.92 and a 52-week high of $129.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.