Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisory LLC

Cornerstone Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 boosted its position in 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 worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after purchasing an additional 72,696 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after buying an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 149,402 shares of company stock valued at $17,607,288 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $119.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,093,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,977. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $82.02 and a one year high of $121.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 88.44%.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.