Ethic Inc. Buys 6,533 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,533 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings 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 worth $280,214,000 after acquiring an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings 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 worth $231,321,000 after acquiring an additional 291,422 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,629,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,095,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 891,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $99.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $100.76 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.57.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.