Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,812 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,859,000 after acquiring an additional 116,079 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,801,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,201,000 after buying an additional 95,021 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,751,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,571,000 after acquiring an additional 216,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,284,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,449,000 after acquiring an additional 29,025 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $104.01 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $36.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.79.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Company 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.