AGP Franklin LLC Takes $944,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,480,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,586. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $107.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change 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 5.43%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value 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 represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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.