Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PRU opened at $117.22 on Friday. 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 $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.66. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.31.

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.