Sciencast Management LP Buys New Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $110.35 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.