Verity & Verity LLC Has $21.14 Million Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,620 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial makes up about 1.9% of Verity & Verity LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Verity & Verity LLC owned 0.05% of Prudential Financial worth $21,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 860,239 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $76,303,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 322.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $84,287,000 after buying an additional 542,964 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.9%

PRU traded down $2.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,358,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,646,374. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $103.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 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.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of 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, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.15.

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.