Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 44.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,875 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after purchasing an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,552,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,871,000 after buying an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $36,298,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.11.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $103.48 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.47. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The firm has a market cap of $36.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Prudential Financial 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.