Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 218 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 225,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,676,000 after purchasing an additional 89,733 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Barclays reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $117.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.71. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.60 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.