Wedmont Private Capital Buys 106 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $258,000. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $857,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 389.6% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 25,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 20,022 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $120.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty day moving average of $122.38 and a 200 day moving average of $120.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

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.