Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Position Trimmed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 864,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,021 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $89,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 104,987.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,450,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,301 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $172,363,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,930.2% during the first quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 771,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 764,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2,197.4% in the 1st quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 690,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,560,000 after buying an additional 660,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $107.35 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

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.