Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

PRU opened at $112.80 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.02 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.77.

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.