Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 6,365 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,365 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after buying an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,601,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $102.00 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.32 and its 200 day moving average is $113.43. The company has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.08.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.