Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Trading Down 3.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) were down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $118.32 and last traded at $118.1130. 313,936 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,110,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.93 and its 200-day moving average is $105.78. The company has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.