NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 43.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,587 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 5,412 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,285,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 312.8% in the third quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,856,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,291,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.41 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.11.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $762,215.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.