CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 1,499 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,499 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1,843.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 25,415 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 25.3% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 11,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $112.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.87. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.45 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.