Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after buying an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.74.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. 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. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.