Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 3,439 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,439 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $19,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.15.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

PRU stock opened at $110.35 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.05. The company has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

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.