Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,274 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after acquiring an additional 600,482 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,192,000 after acquiring an additional 567,571 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $40,552,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after purchasing an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the sale, the chairman owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,779,917.96. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. The trade was a 40.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock valued at $6,796,067 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $114.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.79. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $123.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $116.80.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.