Advisor Resource Council Makes New $351,000 Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $104.31 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $103.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.09.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

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.

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