Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC decreased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,478,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,251,000. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,829,000 after acquiring an additional 302,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.84. 930,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,298,834. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.08. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.34 and a twelve month high of $121.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 149,402 shares of company stock valued at $17,607,288 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.