Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,884 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,796,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,571,000 after purchasing an additional 216,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $102.90 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $105.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.09.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.

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