Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 25.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,718 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after acquiring an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.2% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,192,000 after purchasing an additional 567,571 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,552,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 209.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after purchasing an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Mizuho began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. The trade was a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,779,917.96. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $107.42 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $123.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $17.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 74.18%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.