Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 8,982 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 41.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,982 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,987,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.9%

PRU opened at $109.18 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.70 and its 200 day moving average is $104.21.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.92.

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.