Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Acquires 729 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $109.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.44 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.88 and its 200-day moving average is $119.62.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.