Kowal Investment Group LLC Purchases 1,451 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $117.31. 461,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,477,090. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.38 and its 200 day moving average is $110.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $87.57 and a one year high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.08.

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.