Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,267 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $18,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,395,000 after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $112.83 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.87. 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 capitalization of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.45 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.