South Dakota Investment Council Sells 3,500 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 85,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.33.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.36. The stock had a trading volume of 452,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,507,048. The company has a market cap of $40.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.50. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. Insiders own 0.34% 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.