Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 84.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 65,857 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.5% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 52,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $108.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.38.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.