Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lowered its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,593 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after acquiring an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter valued at $30,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRU. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $110.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.02 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.61%.

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.