Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,549 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 163.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position 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 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 Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,112,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $112.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.33.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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). The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Company 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.