Beacon Financial Group Reduces Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $110.82 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.02 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.61%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.