Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 52.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,441 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,206,000 after buying an additional 958,672 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 37.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,156,000 after buying an additional 431,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $121.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.74.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.