BankPlus Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 58,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 309,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,689,000 after acquiring an additional 137,546 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $120.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $121.29 and its 200 day moving average is $120.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.60 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.31.

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.