Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 19,915 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 6.5%, now owning 325,769 shares valued at approximately $35 million.
• Prudential Financial reported an EPS of $3.58 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, but revenue decreased by 2.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 5.2% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 119.73%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 325,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,915 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.09% of Prudential Financial worth $35,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,217,000 after buying an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 728.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 68.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,373,000 after purchasing an additional 44,937 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.69 on Monday, reaching $102.90. 1,439,552 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,198. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.15.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.