Valmark Advisers Inc. Buys Shares of 2,891 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $110.50 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69. The company has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.75 and a 200 day moving average of $103.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

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.