Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Holdings Raised by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.6%, owning 34,309 shares valued at approximately $3.83 million as of the end of the most recent reporting period.
• Prudential Financial reported $3.58 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, with revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35, representing an annual yield of 5.1%, with a currently high dividend payout ratio of 119.73%.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,923,000 after purchasing an additional 860,239 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.5%

Prudential Financial stock traded up $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,957,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,471. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $105.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.94.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Prudential Financial's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.