Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Boosts Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after buying an additional 1,267,571 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after acquiring an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after acquiring an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10,529.7% during the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 155,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,004,000 after acquiring an additional 154,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.77.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $121.28 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.90 and a 12-month high of $128.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.40.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

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.