Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,701,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of PRU stock traded down $4.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.41. 1,911,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,194,421. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.67.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

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.