Sound Income Strategies LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 49,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,758,000 after acquiring an additional 6,912 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 20,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 504,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,312,000 after acquiring an additional 151,430 shares during the last quarter. 56.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total transaction of $1,151,334.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,300 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,685. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,214,307.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total value of $1,151,334.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $4.17 on Friday, hitting $78.02. 16,323,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,275,648. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.90 and a 12 month high of $122.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.15). Prudential Financial had a positive return on equity of 13.31% and a negative net margin of 2.33%. The business had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 12.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -126.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Raymond James downgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Prudential Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

About Prudential Financial

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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.