Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $2.47 Million in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,466,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $119.80 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $117.95 and its 200 day moving average is $106.27. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.72%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction 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 owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.