Vise Technologies Inc. Buys 6,433 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 114.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,433 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,321,000 after purchasing an additional 291,422 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $140,530,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PRU opened at $103.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

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.