Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $1.16 Million in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,162,000. Prudential Financial accounts for 0.7% of Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,613,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $628,529,000 after acquiring an additional 111,170 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,589,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $655,378,000 after acquiring an additional 413,421 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,353,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $750,839,000 after acquiring an additional 356,957 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,247,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $383,753,000 after acquiring an additional 103,853 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $110.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,419,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,028. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.06.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given 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 4.70%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

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.

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