Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 52.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,330 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,327 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $6,545,000. Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,605,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 735,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,801,000 after purchasing an additional 29,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 128.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 10,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of PRU opened at $122.67 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $127.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.78. The company has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $109.31.

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.