Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases New Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $110.35 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.45 and a 52-week 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 $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.03.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.