Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Purchases 198 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,231,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,144 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $109.51 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.44 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.05 and a 200 day moving average of $119.86. 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 company has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.