First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU remained flat at $118.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 718,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,852. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.57 and a 1 year high of $121.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $42.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.20.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

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.