Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions acquired 12,351 Prudential Financial shares worth approximately $1.33 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 56.83% of PRU’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: one analyst rates PRU a Buy, 11 rate it Hold and five rate it Sell, producing an average “Reduce” rating and $107.62 price target.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, beating estimates of $3.52, and declared a $1.40 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,333,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRU. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $107.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, 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 value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $125.05 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The company's 50 day moving average price is $114.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. 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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