175,490 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Acquired by Prana Capital Management LP

Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 175,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,205,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after purchasing an additional 600,482 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,817,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,344,000 after buying an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,629,000 after buying an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.4%

PRU stock opened at $94.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.81 and its 200 day moving average is $106.33. The stock has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,970. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $115.22.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.