Optivise Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Optivise Advisory Services LLC cut its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRU. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.8% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $104.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $103.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.64. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.