Korea Investment CORP Sells 49,680 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,680 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $18,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 171,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,327 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,545,000. Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,605,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 735,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,801,000 after purchasing an additional 29,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 128.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 19,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 10,909 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $121.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $116.66 and its 200-day moving average is $105.67. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

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.