OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• OneDigital Investment Advisors initiated a Prudential Financial position worth approximately $1.14 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 56.83% of PRU shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PRU has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $107.77, despite several firms recently raising their targets.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $3.52, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $209,055,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 379.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,884,000 after purchasing an additional 490,553 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $107.77.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:PRU opened at $124.54 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $127.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. 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's 50 day moving average price is $115.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial 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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