Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $58 million.
• Prudential Financial reported $3.58 EPS for the last quarter, beating estimates, though quarterly revenue saw a 2.5% year-over-year decline.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, representing a 4.9% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 119.73%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,129 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.15% of Prudential Financial worth $58,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the first 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. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 350.8% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Prudential Financial stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.78. 1,449,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,660,892. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.73 and a 200 day moving average of $105.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company 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%.Prudential Financial's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.