Wambolt & Associates LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wambolt & Associates LLC cut its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,087 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.8 %

PRU stock opened at $113.35 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.45 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $40.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.00.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.