Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,760 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Prudential Financial by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,020,000 after purchasing an additional 20,235 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,112,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after buying an additional 34,054 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 868,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,076,000 after buying an additional 127,772 shares during the period. 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.59 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.22 and a 52 week high of $118.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The firm 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 for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

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.