Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRUFree Report) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,343,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 320,880 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $252,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 9.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 14,327 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $6,545,000. Orca Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,605,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.2% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 29,720 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 128.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 10,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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 dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were 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 directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PRU. Barclays lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PRU

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $120.36 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.05. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRUGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU)

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