Natixis Advisors LLC Has $15.78 Million Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,222 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,907 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.24. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.