Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,220 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after purchasing an additional 5,126 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,452 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,621,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 36.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,037,000 after buying an additional 36,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $108.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.