Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.62. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS 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, analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

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.