American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 20,471 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 628,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,471 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $74,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $113.35 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.51 and a 200-day moving average of $119.00. The company has a market capitalization of $40.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.