Values Added Financial LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Values Added Financial LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.00. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.44 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.