Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Acquired by International Private Wealth Advisors LLC

International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $105.63 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.75. The firm has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.