Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Buys 1,596 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

PRU stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.19. 2,257,039 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,310. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.69 and a 1-year high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.08.

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.