LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LPL Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 501,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,994 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Prudential Financial worth $59,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. State Street Corp grew its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after buying an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE PRU opened at $115.62 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. 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 4.67%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 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.