Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Invests $1.20 Million in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Beacon Pointe Advisors purchased 11,141 Prudential Financial shares worth approximately $1.20 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of PRU’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PRU has a consensus rating of “Reduce,” based on one Buy, eleven Hold and five Sell ratings, with an average price target of $109.31.
• Prudential reported second-quarter EPS of $4.08, beating estimates of $3.52, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40, equivalent to a 4.7% annualized yield.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 34.8% in the second quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.0%

PRU stock opened at $119.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 50.72%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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