CENTRAL TRUST Co Has $374,000 Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $117.91 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $101.72 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

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.