Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,841.2% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.75.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $100.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.24. The stock has a market cap of $35.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 0.93 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.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.