LSV Asset Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LSV Asset Management lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 406,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $47,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $7,365,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 475.8% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 585,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,571,000 after acquiring an additional 24,196 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,669,000 after purchasing an additional 14,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 25,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PRU stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, hitting $123.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,275,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,458,463. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.80. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.95 and a 1 year high of $124.19.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRU. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Prudential Financial 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.