Arvest Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Arvest Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $110.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.18. The stock has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.