Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 70.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 150,948 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Prudential Financial worth $43,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of PRU stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $106.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,757,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,354. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $104.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial 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.