Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential Sells 214,746 Shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $122.86. 1,917,154 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,151,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $124.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.13 and a 200 day moving average of $104.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.75 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 958,672 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 379.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,884,000 after purchasing an additional 490,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,156,000 after purchasing an additional 431,527 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. 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 research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

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.