Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 17,762 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 278,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,762 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $32,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Barclays upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.70 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.45 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid 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 4.83%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

About Prudential Financial

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.