Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 4,220 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 601,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,220 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $62,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.33.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $108.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

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.