Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 128,140 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 49.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 386,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,140 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.11% of Prudential Financial worth $37,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $105.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $122.86 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $124.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.50 and a 200-day moving average of $104.41. The company has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

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.