Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 1,817 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial comprises approximately 2.1% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $21,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This trade represents a 16.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PRU. Bank of America increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $128.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.44. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.32 and a fifty-two week high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

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.