Cornerstone Advisory LLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Cornerstone Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after buying an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $113,478,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,926,000 after purchasing an additional 388,363 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $34,251,000. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,829,000 after acquiring an additional 302,164 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 149,402 shares of company stock valued at $17,607,288. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $119.62. 1,093,423 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,977. 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 stock has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.02 and a 12-month high of $121.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.26.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

About Prudential Financial

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.