7,418 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Bought by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $879,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth about $30,226,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 241.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 214,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,971,000 after buying an additional 151,710 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $109.45 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.80.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

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.