Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock Position Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,011 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 498,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 80,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,409,000 after purchasing an additional 26,520 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 25,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 78.8% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PRU traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $128.88. The stock had a trading volume of 496,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.92 and a 12-month high of $129.69. The firm has a market cap of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $123.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.82.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

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.