Westhampton Capital LLC Increases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Westhampton Capital LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 153.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $106.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $119.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.61%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.