VCI Wealth Management LLC Buys 10,404 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• VCI Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) by 117.1% in Q4, buying 10,404 shares to hold 19,292 shares worth about $2.18 million.
• Analyst sentiment has turned cautious — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Reduce with a $108 consensus target, and several firms (including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley) recently cut ratings or price targets.
• Prudential raised its quarterly dividend to $1.40 (annualized $5.60), implying a ~5.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 56%.

VCI Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 117.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,404 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,214,000 after buying an additional 62,366 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,321,000 after acquiring an additional 291,422 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,629,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,095,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 891,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $108.00.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $1.97 on Friday, hitting $101.75. 2,438,081 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,072,551. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.95. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. The company has a market capitalization of $35.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The business had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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