Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) by 58.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,000. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 517.1% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 35,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 29,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.88). The firm had revenue of $13.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.56 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 3.52%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 23rd were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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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 eight segments: PGIM, Retirement, Group Insurance, Individual Annuities, Individual Life, Assurance IQ, International Businesses, and Closed Block.

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