Private Advisor Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after buying an additional 50,026 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $109.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.62. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

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.