Everstar Asset Management LLC Sells 1,782 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Everstar Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during 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. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned 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.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE PRU opened at $109.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.98. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.45 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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%. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.