Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. CWM LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 85.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 6,017 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $356,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $0.60 on Monday, hitting $118.01. 1,082,114 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,504,461. The firm has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.98. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Argus raised shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.33.

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.