Trust Investment Advisors Purchases 230 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $114.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.44 and a 200 day moving average of $119.01. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.45 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.