Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Boosts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 698 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial accounts for 1.3% of Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PRU opened at $111.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.02 and a one year high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.23.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

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.