Avior Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 worth $2,059,549,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third 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. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after buying an additional 305,143 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the third 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 period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $117.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $121.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.66. The company has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.60 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.31.

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.