Principle Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.42.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.50. 1,110,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,730. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 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 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

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.