Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Acquired by Park Place Capital Corp

Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 413.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,478 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $122.67 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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 net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $109.31.

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.