Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Buys 600 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 143,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,328,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE PRU opened at $108.64 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.37. The stock has a market cap of $38.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Company 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.