Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,515 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,452,000 after purchasing an additional 57,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,273,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,772,000 after purchasing an additional 38,229 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

PRU stock opened at $112.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.21.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.