Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,237 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $14,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 86,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,341,000 after purchasing an additional 14,632 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $1,532,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 22,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,195,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Finally, Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.4% during the first quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 13,230 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $111.16 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.99 and a 200 day moving average of $104.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.92.

Prudential Financial Company 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.