Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock Holdings Lowered by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) by 11.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,199 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.06% of Prudential Financial worth $20,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 7.3% in the third quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 56.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $82.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $98.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.00. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.90 and a twelve month high of $122.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.15). Prudential Financial had a negative net margin of 2.33% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $12.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -126.90%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total value of $1,151,334.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

About Prudential Financial

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Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.