CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 3,201 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $258,000. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $857,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 389.6% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 25,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 20,022 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $118.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,299,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,986. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $42.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.60 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.66.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.42.

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.