SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 10,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,518,000 after buying an additional 5,144 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $113.37 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.90. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.44 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

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 Life, and International Businesses segments.