Compass Financial Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $121.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 2.29 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $108.31.

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.