Beacon Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 381.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Comerica Bank increased its position in Prudential Financial by 28.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 100,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,744,000 after acquiring an additional 22,017 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 521.1% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 13,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 11,656 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 35.5% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 25,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.2 %

Prudential Financial stock traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $122.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,830,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,098. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.95 and a 52 week high of $128.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $43.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $119.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.92.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.92.

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.