Barclays PLC Sells 345,835 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Barclays PLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 32.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 716,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 345,835 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $84,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $2,294,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 3,483 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 33.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after buying an additional 30,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $100.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.30. The firm has a market cap of $35.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.