Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,093 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,219,000 after buying an additional 1,267,571 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,874,000 after acquiring an additional 357,300 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at about $30,226,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $121.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $89.90 and a one year high of $128.52.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.