1,707 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Purchased by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 valued at $370,327,000 after acquiring an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $290,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

PRU opened at $115.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.44 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $41.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. 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 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 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.