Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 659,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,434 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $78,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE PRU opened at $111.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.44 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.