Busey Bank Makes New $211,000 Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Busey Bank purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.31.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $121.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.66. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.60 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.