EP Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 45.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 11,088 shares worth approximately $1,238,000 as of its latest filing.
• Prudential Financial reported earnings of $3.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the estimated $3.22, with a revenue of $13.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a 5.0% yield and a payout ratio of 119.73%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 45.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 32,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,062,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 22,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.08.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PRU stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $105.88. 1,418,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,760,790. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company's 50-day moving average price is $105.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.