Tidal Investments LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $254,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $38,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $432,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 80,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,327,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $120.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $124.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.50. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.60 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.