California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 21,902 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 656,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,902 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Prudential Financial worth $68,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 77.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James downgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.