Herold Advisors Inc. Has $330,000 Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Herold Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $356,000. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 76,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,854,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $110.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,014,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,422. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The firm has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.73.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Prudential Financial’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 77.73%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.42.

About Prudential Financial

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.