Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $34.16 Million Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,271 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.09% of Prudential Financial worth $34,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.8%

PRU opened at $105.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $102.63 and a 200 day moving average of $111.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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 year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.