7,123 Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Purchased by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $3,507,481,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $209,055,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $157,752,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE PRU opened at $120.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PRU. Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

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.