Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Bought by Mechanics Financial Corp

Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,452,000 after acquiring an additional 57,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,064,000 after purchasing an additional 197,422 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,273,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,772,000 after purchasing an additional 38,229 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after buying an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after buying an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $110.67. The company had a trading volume of 544,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,214. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $118.69. The company has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.00 and a 200-day moving average of $104.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.