California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 597,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,542 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $70,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $195,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,231,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 66,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 purchased 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $111.77 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.95. The company has a market cap of $40.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its 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%. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.