Griffith & Werner Inc. Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $1.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.84. 2,260,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,967. The stock has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.15.

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.