Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 60.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,453 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 93.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $119.05 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $120.53. The firm has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $104.58.

Prudential Financial 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.