Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Stock Position Lowered by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 640,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,830 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $72,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Team Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.4% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Recent Prudential Financial Headlines

These are some of the PRU headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Prudential Wealth Advisors reported record third-quarter sales, about $80 billion in client assets, and revenue growth of 20% over two years. It also said it is attracting experienced advisors and serves nearly 4.3 million clients through more than 3,000 advisors, supporting the company’s push to expand wealth management. Prudential Wealth Advisors reports record sales
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha article describes Prudential as being in transition after divestitures, pointing to a period of strategic change; the provided article information does not specify the expected financial impact. Prudential Is In Transition After Divestitures
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho lifted its target from $116 to $120, yet maintained a “neutral” rating; its target also remained below the referenced share price, tempering the apparent positive signal. Mizuho rating

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $115.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, CEO Andrew Sullivan sold 3,544 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.32, for a total value of $429,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,104,458.44. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Kappler sold 2,797 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $337,318.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,529.20. The trade was a 16.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,135 shares of company stock valued at $1,106,021. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $1.14 on Friday, reaching $123.55. 1,141,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,884,523. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $128.78. The firm has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.32 and a 200-day moving average of $109.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.44. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 16.38%. The business had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. is a financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as the Prudential Friendly Society, it has grown into a provider of insurance, retirement and investment services. The company offers life insurance, annuities, workplace benefits and retirement-related products and services. Through its asset management businesses, Prudential also serves individual and institutional investors. Prudential serves customers in the United States and operates internationally, with a significant presence in Japan and other markets.