Roxbury Financial LLC Takes $1.97 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,000. Prudential Financial makes up 1.9% of Roxbury Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $111.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,475,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,937. 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 company has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.44 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The business's fifty day moving average price is $117.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.69.

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.