Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 10,374 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 31.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,374 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

PRU opened at $127.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.32 and a fifty-two week high of $129.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $122.20 and its 200 day moving average is $119.22.

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. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PRU. UBS Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.