Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 174,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,529 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $18,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $109.31.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $119.18 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $41.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.38.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.72%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.