Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Stake Cut by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 34.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,208 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,852,593,000 after purchasing an additional 209,179 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,089,000 after buying an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $209,055,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $116.35 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.79.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Evercore decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given 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 $111.27.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc (NYSE: PRU) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1875, the company serves individuals, businesses and institutional investors through a range of businesses and distribution channels.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, including group life, disability and dental insurance.