HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,685 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $110.35 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.