Sutton Place Investors LLC Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sutton Place Investors LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,080,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. Jmac Enterprises LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 15,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU traded down $1.43 on Thursday, reaching $111.29. 1,728,743 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,606. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $110.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "c+" rating to an "a-" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.