Values Added Financial LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Values Added Financial LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 162,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 51,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,057,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PRU opened at $112.01 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.00. The company has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.44 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

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.