SouthState Corp Sells 1,236 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SouthState Corp decreased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 163.5% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after acquiring an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $2,112,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,054 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,028,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,168. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $112.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.21. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.22 and a 12-month high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.