Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $3.14 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 8.7% in the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $548,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 45,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,554,000 after buying an additional 7,423 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 14,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This represents a 16.34 % decrease 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, 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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $125.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,495,593. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.06. The stock has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $93.32 and a one year high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.