Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Intrust Bank NA

Intrust Bank NA cut its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after buying an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $109.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.95. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.45 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

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.