Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 927,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,552 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $109,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.18 on Thursday. 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 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.87. The firm has a market cap of $36.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.18%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.