Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys Shares of 24,445 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PRU shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $111.54 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.44 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced 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 expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Company 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.