Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,087 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,700,000 after purchasing an additional 105,089 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $2,294,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 22.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $104.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.92. The company has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.85.

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.