Iowa State Bank Sells 2,065 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Iowa State Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 46,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,065 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $5,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after buying an additional 357,300 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PRU shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU traded up $1.15 on Monday, reaching $120.29. 378,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,811. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.60 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

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.