Mount Lucas Management LP Buys 157 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Mount Lucas Management LP grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 136,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,509,000 after acquiring an additional 8,078 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 7,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $125,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 8.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $127.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $122.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.33. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.32 and a 52-week high of $129.13. The company has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

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.