Royal Bank of Canada Sells 20,218 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,166,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,218 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.34% of Prudential Financial worth $113,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,199,000 after buying an additional 15,056 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,751,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 386,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,767,000 after acquiring an additional 128,140 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 36,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,597,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 66.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 63,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after acquiring an additional 25,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $122.86 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $124.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.50 and its 200 day moving average is $104.41. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.