Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Purchased by Burney Co.

Burney Co. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 83.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,472 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after acquiring an additional 958,672 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after acquiring an additional 520,425 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after purchasing an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $115.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.04. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 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.