AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 22,588 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,588 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,847,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. 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 raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.78.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $107.60 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $123.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Prudential Financial

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.