Element Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Element Wealth LLC lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 723 shares during the quarter. Element Wealth LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 91.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.4% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,995.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.05. 1,367,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,512,823. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.36. The firm has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year 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.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 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 issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.33.

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.