5,689 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Bought by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 71.1% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 5,412 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 117.1% in the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 10,404 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 76,461 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at $1,285,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 22.0% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,291,000 after acquiring an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $102.71 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The stock has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.56.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.