Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential Acquires 1,675,978 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 25th, Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.31. 2,639,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,655,275. The stock's 50-day moving average is $103.44 and its 200-day moving average is $110.32. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is 85.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $61,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,150,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,217,000 after buying an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.15.

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.