LRI Investments LLC Has $79,000 Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LRI Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 77,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,149,000 after buying an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $107.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

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.