ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,290 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $7,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,402,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,010,474,000 after acquiring an additional 163,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,817,000 after acquiring an additional 31,088 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,344,000 after purchasing an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $122,778,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.11.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $105.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 54.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.