Econ Financial Services Corp Takes $1.53 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,532,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PRU. UBS Group cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $108.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $102.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.