Wambolt & Associates LLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $1,662,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 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 buying an additional 567,571 shares during the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $289,000. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.73.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $108.34 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $37.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 4.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

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.