Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Stake Lessened by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,613 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,344,000 after purchasing an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3,490.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 5,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 891,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,458,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,719 shares of company stock valued at $6,796,067. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.80.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $111.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.09 and its 200-day moving average is $107.22. The company has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $123.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $17.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 4.65%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.18%.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.