Founders Financial Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after acquiring an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,321,000 after purchasing an additional 291,422 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $140,530,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,629,000 after purchasing an additional 17,030 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $100.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.41.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.