Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 80.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,331 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 16,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $874,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 57,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.02 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given 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 4.84%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.77.

About Prudential Financial

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.