Kennebec Savings Bank Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kennebec Savings Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 205,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $121.89 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.