Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 126 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.44 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.83.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

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.