Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 98 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position 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 valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.95. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.45 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $40.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

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.