HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 12.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,571 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8%

PRU opened at $118.54 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $119.91 and a 200 day moving average of $107.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.