Lbp Am Sa Buys 20,396 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Lbp Am Sa raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 137,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,396 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $16,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $104.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.44. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

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.