Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

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

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 203,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,642,000 after purchasing an additional 22,588 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 304.1% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.02 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their price target on 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 raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Company 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.