Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Carson Advisory Inc.

Carson Advisory Inc. reduced its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154,865 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $113,478,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth about $35,855,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 387.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 332,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,475,000 after purchasing an additional 264,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,568,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $114.65 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.95 and a twelve month high of $128.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.82.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $13.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.78 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 88.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company 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.