California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 21,902 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,902 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $68,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE PRU opened at $111.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.61. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.22 and a 52 week high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.42.

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.