Commerce Bank Purchases 1,114 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.4% in the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $127.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.92 and a 12-month high of $129.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

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.