Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Purchased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $76,303,000. Amundi raised its position in Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.44. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial 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.