Great Lakes Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 247,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139,358 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $25,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.3% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total value of $5,172,331.96. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $107.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $123.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.27.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.18%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.