SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 12.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,375 shares during the quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,753,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:PRU opened at $107.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.66. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $37.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.73.

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.