Fiduciary Group LLC Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Fiduciary Group LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,452,000 after purchasing an additional 57,531 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,064,000 after purchasing an additional 197,422 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,273,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,772,000 after purchasing an additional 38,229 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after acquiring an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. 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 4.65%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.73%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.42.

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.