Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,571 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after acquiring an additional 305,143 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

PRU opened at $128.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.12. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.87 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.92.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.