Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Acquired by Westhampton Capital LLC

Westhampton Capital LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 153.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares during the quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park National Corp OH acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 268,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,346,000 after acquiring an additional 82,173 shares during the period. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $381,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 104.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.3%

PRU opened at $106.86 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.34. 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 capitalization of $37.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

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.