Buffington Mohr McNeal Makes New $308,000 Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after acquiring an additional 50,026 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE PRU opened at $120.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.60 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.