728 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Bought by Crowley Wealth Management Inc.

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after acquiring an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $110.35 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.03.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.