Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 20,914 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 12.4%, now holding approximately 0.05% of the company, worth $21.14 million.
• Prudential Financial reported $3.29 EPS for the latest quarter, which exceeded estimates by $0.11, although revenue was down 38.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.13% and a payout ratio of 85.58%.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,914 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned 0.05% of Prudential Financial worth $21,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altman Advisors Inc. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.8% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $3.12 on Thursday, hitting $104.90. 926,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,764,828. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $37.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company's fifty day moving average is $104.90 and its 200 day moving average is $107.61.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 85.58%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.