Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,841.2% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $105.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.90.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 85.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.75.

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.