Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Position Lessened by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 70.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,956 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,847,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.72 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $123.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.27.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 74.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. The trade was a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.78.

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.