Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.15.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.48 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.30. The company has a market capitalization of $36.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

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.