Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,276 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value 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 approximately $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $108.37. 602,821 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,515,954. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.90.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

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.