J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $110.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,470,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,978. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $118.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Raymond James cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.33.

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.