Trust Co. of Vermont Has $159,000 Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.1%

PRU stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.91. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.08.

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.