Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $9.69 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 99,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,389 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE PRU opened at $119.05 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $120.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Company 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.