Raymond James & Associates Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 525,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,331 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.15% of Prudential Financial worth $54,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.60.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $117.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.04. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year high of $117.17.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.