Advisory Services Network LLC Grows Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,321 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peoples Bank OH increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Peoples Bank OH now owns 4,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 38.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.67.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.93. 211,315 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,450,290. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.95 and a 1 year high of $123.98. The company has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.80.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

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.