7,942 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Bought by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $776,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $122.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.49. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $124.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.