Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Increases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,715 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after acquiring an additional 220,671 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in 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% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after buying an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.9 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.98. The company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

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.