Procyon Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Procyon Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,566 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in 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 buying an additional 31,088 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,752,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,344,000 after buying an additional 32,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,629,000 after buying an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at about $122,778,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $115.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PRU stock opened at $94.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.90.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

About Prudential Financial

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.