Montag A & Associates Inc. Acquires 375 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PRU opened at $111.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.87 and a 200 day moving average of $119.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.46.

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.