Procyon Advisors LLC Sells 20,566 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,566 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,214,000 after acquiring an additional 62,366 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,817,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,344,000 after purchasing an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,629,000 after purchasing an additional 17,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $122,778,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $115.22.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $94.33 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $119.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.52 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,742.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk acquired 400 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $105.32 per share, with a total value of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.