iA Global Asset Management Inc. Makes New $1.26 Million Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 11,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during 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 shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $103.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio 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.