Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,761,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $119.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, 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 $127.72. The company has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $117.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.27.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

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.