Summit Financial LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 99.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE PRU opened at $112.83 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.69 and a 200 day moving average of $118.87.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.