State of Wyoming Buys New Shares in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,605,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $972,000. SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $9,746,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 325,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,105,000 after buying an additional 26,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $124.54 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $42.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research 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, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $107.77.

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.