Pinebridge Investments L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 352,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $41,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 957,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,530,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 158,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,800,000 after purchasing an additional 17,812 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 241,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,661,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE PRU opened at $100.16 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.