Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 37.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 431,527 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $155,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 114 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $117.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $120.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.25.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.