UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,193 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $109.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.92.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.