Unison Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the quarter. Unison Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $104.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $37.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.78. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.09 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.08.

About Prudential Financial

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.