Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 67,014 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 876,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,014 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $85,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Argus lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $119.05 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $120.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.27 and a 200-day moving average of $104.17. 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 firm has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.