NorthRock Partners LLC Has $658,000 Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 115.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,973 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:PRU opened at $106.95 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.92.

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.