MV Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

MV Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 104,987.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,450,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,301 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $172,363,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. Cowa LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,930.2% in the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 771,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 764,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,197.4% in the 1st quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 690,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,560,000 after purchasing an additional 660,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,754,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,455. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.62. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $118.69. The company has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Prudential Financial’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.67.

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.