Savvy Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $115,878,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,303,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $181,851,000 after buying an additional 378,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,998,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.39. 1,480,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,586. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.93 and a 200 day moving average of $117.03. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.