Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $120.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $122.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during 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 business posted $3.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

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.