Hartford Investment Management Co. Lowers Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $35,855,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after acquiring an additional 305,143 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 10,529.7% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 155,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,004,000 after acquiring an additional 154,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,355.0% during the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 151,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,798,000 after purchasing an additional 145,423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $125.16 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.30. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.95 and a 52-week high of $128.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $13.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Argus raised shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.69.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.