Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 6,135 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,135 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $98.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.58. The company has a market capitalization of $34.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.47%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PRU. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.77.

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.