Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 604 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $118.98 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.60 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.