Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 4,885 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.39. 1,480,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,586. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $107.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.03. 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 has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.