J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 167 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,613,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $628,529,000 after purchasing an additional 111,170 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,589,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $655,378,000 after purchasing an additional 413,421 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,353,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,839,000 after purchasing an additional 356,957 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,247,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,753,000 after acquiring an additional 103,853 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $110.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,470,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,978. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.73%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.