HMV Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 2,655 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

HMV Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $247,000. LBP AM SA boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 137,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,323,000 after buying an additional 20,396 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.15.

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Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.90 on Wednesday, hitting $110.64. 1,252,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,427,178. The company's 50 day moving average price is $113.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.24. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year 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 capitalization of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 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.