Huntington National Bank Decreases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Huntington National Bank reduced its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,125 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $15,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,128. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $98.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $119.76. The company has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.78.

Prudential Financial Company 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.