Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. by 68.2%, owning 110,794 shares valued at approximately $12.37 million after acquiring an additional 44,937 shares in the first quarter.
• Prudential Financial recently reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, while revenue was $13.50 billion, slightly above estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, equating to an annualized yield of 5.1%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 19th.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 68.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,937 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $12,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 350.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of 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, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.8%

PRU opened at $105.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $104.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.27. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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