LPL Financial LLC Has $58.21 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 20,156 shares for a total holding of 521,190 shares valued at approximately $58.2 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on Prudential Financial shares from $126.00 to $136.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating, reflecting analysts' mixed outlook with a range of ratings from "sell" to "strong buy."
• Prudential Financial recently announced an annualized dividend of $5.40, representing a dividend yield of 5.2%, indicating strong returns for investors despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 521,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,156 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.15% of Prudential Financial worth $58,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.0% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 stock was bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $2.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.64. 2,467,747 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,826. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.