Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 59.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,939 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $105.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PRU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report).

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.