New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $24,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 146.5% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $38.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $122.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI increased 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 note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,618,974.44. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.