St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $116.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.69. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.60 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial 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.