Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 218 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 225,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,676,000 after purchasing an additional 89,733 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $117.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.71. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.60 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

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.