Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 139,586 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,362,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139,586 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Prudential Financial worth $4,394,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 146.5% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,600.0% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.11.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 1,408,139 shares of company stock valued at $35,128,697 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.3%

PRU stock opened at $103.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.57 and a 200 day moving average of $107.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.00%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.