Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,515 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $815,000. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $2,112,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 868,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,076,000 after purchasing an additional 127,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $112.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.21. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $77.22 and a one year high of $118.69. The firm has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.42.

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.