West Family Investments Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,760 Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $119.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.08. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $41.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.