Insider Selling: Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) SVP Sells 8,000 Shares of Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) SVP Timothy Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.96. 1,368,453 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $128.72. The company has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 4.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Barclays dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 17,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 4,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 21.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.