World Investment Advisors Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

World Investment Advisors raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 104.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 982.8% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard acquired 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $101.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.55. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $119.76. The company has a market cap of $35.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.