Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,377,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,667 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $265,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $7,935,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 112.5% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 14,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of PRU opened at $103.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.83. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.75.

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.