Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,507,481,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $209,055,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at about $157,752,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $140,530,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $120.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.60. The company has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $108.31.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.