Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PRU. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.77.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $112.80 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.26. 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 $40.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, 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.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Prudential Financial 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.