Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 88,705 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 740.5%, acquiring 88,705 additional shares in the first quarter, bringing their total to 100,684 shares valued at approximately $11.24 million.
• Prudential Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 5.1% and a payout ratio of 119.73%.
• The company reported earnings of $3.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a slight revenue decline of 2.5% from the previous year, indicating mixed performance amidst fluctuating market conditions.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 740.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 88,705 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during 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. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.7920 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.0420. 741,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,771,424. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $37.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $104.98 and its 200-day moving average is $106.07. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for 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 company's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.08.

About Prudential Financial

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.