Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 297,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,469 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $35,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,423,000. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 27,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308 shares during the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $118.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.60 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.25.

About Prudential Financial

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.