Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,110,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 329,689 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $441,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $122,778,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at $90,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after buying an additional 678,028 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,192,000 after buying an additional 567,571 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PRU. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $110.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $38.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.94. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $127.82.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.