5,984 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Acquired by Ipsen Advisor Group LLC

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $114.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.01. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.