Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,729,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,473 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.49% of Prudential Financial worth $205,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,700,000 after purchasing an additional 105,089 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Prudential Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.6%

PRU stock opened at $106.95 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $37.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.19.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.58%.

Prudential Financial 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.