Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,902 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 350.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8%

PRU stock opened at $103.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.98%. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Company 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.