MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Acquires Shares of 729 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after buying an additional 5,126 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 6.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,452 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,621,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 36.4% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,037,000 after purchasing an additional 36,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total value of $1,151,334.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $409,299.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,214,307.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $78.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.90 and a 52-week high of $122.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.36 and its 200 day moving average is $98.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a negative net margin of 2.33% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently -126.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Prudential Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.