ING Groep NV Reduces Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

ING Groep NV decreased its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 60.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,411 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 12.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,791,000 after buying an additional 6,609 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.3% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at $555,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Citigroup upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE PRU opened at $127.41 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $93.32 and a one year high of $129.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.22. The firm has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business 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 firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

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.