Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,197 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PRU. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth $36,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PRU opened at $114.18 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $123.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.97. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.95.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $118.00.

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.