Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 876,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,014 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Prudential Financial worth $85,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PRU shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE PRU opened at $119.05 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $120.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.17.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 57.61%.

Prudential Financial 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.