Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) EVP Ann Kappler Sells 2,797 Shares of Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) EVP Ann Kappler sold 2,797 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $337,318.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,529.20. The trade was a 16.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $123.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.10. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $128.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.44. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.60 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.96%.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,593,000 after acquiring an additional 209,179 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,089,000 after acquiring an additional 166,641 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $209,055,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Prudential Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Prudential Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prudential declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $1.40 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record November 24. The payout may support PRU’s appeal to income-focused investors; the announcement did not specify a dividend increase. Dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Three executives sold a combined 9,135 shares on November 6 for roughly $1.11 million. CEO Andrew F. Sullivan sold 3,544 shares; EVP Ann Kappler sold 2,797; and SVP Robert E. Boyle sold 2,794. The transactions may weigh on sentiment, though the filings do not state the executives’ reasons. Read More., Read More., Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PRU. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $108.00 price objective on Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, October 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $112.40.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. is a financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as the Prudential Friendly Society, it has grown into a provider of insurance, retirement and investment services. The company offers life insurance, annuities, workplace benefits and retirement-related products and services. Through its asset management businesses, Prudential also serves individual and institutional investors. Prudential serves customers in the United States and operates internationally, with a significant presence in Japan and other markets.