Sheets Smith Wealth Management Invests $263,000 in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $117.32 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.71. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.60 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

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.