Private Advisor Group LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,754 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 109.3% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2,347.1% during the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 54.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PRU shares. Raymond James upgraded Prudential Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $95.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.77, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.55. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.37 and a 52 week high of $108.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 1.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 11.71 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 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 21st will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 322.58%.

About Prudential Financial

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 Annuities, Individual Life, Assurance IQ, and International Businesses segments.