CWS Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 649 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $30,226,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 241.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 214,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,971,000 after acquiring an additional 151,710 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PRU opened at $110.54 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.44 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.81.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 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%. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.