LVW Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LVW Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 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 directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $118.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.06 and a 200 day moving average of $120.69. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.60 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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.