SFE Investment Counsel Takes Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 90,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,746,000. Prudential Financial makes up about 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value 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 $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $125.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $107.62.

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.