HMV Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $315,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

HMV Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. LBP AM SA increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 137,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,323,000 after acquiring an additional 20,396 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $108.64 on Friday. 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 $38.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.45 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.