Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $19,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.92.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, 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 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $103.65 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.83. The company has a market cap of $36.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

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.