Ethic Inc. Increases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.1%, acquiring an additional 2,778 shares worth $6,110,000 as per its latest filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
• Prudential Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.40, with a dividend yield of 5.3%.
• Equity analysts have set a consensus target price of $122.27 for Prudential Financial, with ratings ranging from one "buy" to ten "hold" ratings and one "sell" rating.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 104,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,696,000 after buying an additional 2,228 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.6% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 175,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,566,000 after buying an additional 12,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,652.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

PRU opened at $102.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $35.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $104.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.