Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $402,000 Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 158,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,464,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PRU traded up $0.97 on Friday, hitting $112.26. 1,028,916 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,168. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.22 and a 52 week high of $118.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.21.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Prudential Financial’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

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.