State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Purchases 17,812 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,812 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $18,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 241,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,661,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 171.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,864,000 after buying an additional 15,249 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 144,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,128,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PRU traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $103.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 268,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,870,764. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.64 and a 200 day moving average of $116.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.