Unigestion Holding SA Reduces Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $3,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the 4th 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. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 8.1 %

PRU opened at $96.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.63. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.73 and a twelve month 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.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.