Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 2,693 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $280,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 130,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,837,000 after buying an additional 5,011 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 311,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,747,000 after acquiring an additional 12,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $113.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.00. The company has a market cap 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 (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial 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.