Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,724 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $11,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $109.69 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $111.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.73%.

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.