Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,409 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Prudential Financial worth $27,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after acquiring an additional 520,425 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 209.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,912,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,894,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $106.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The company has a market capitalization of $36.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.32.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 57.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Mizuho boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.50.

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.