Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 19,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,979,000 after buying an additional 5,776 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 8,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PRU traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $117.60. The stock had a trading volume of 670,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,567,450. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $117.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.36.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly 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). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Pgim Strategic Investments, In purchased 1,191,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.17 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.15. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,056,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,105,427.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.