Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 440 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,120,000 after buying an additional 50,026 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $109.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.44 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Company 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.