Ascent Group LLC Buys 2,158 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 82.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,158 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $533,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,239 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,230,000 after acquiring an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,796,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $105.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.72 and a 200-day moving average of $105.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.