Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 144,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,738 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $14,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $356,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.42.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.21. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

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.