Valmark Advisers Inc. Cuts Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

PRU stock opened at $111.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 69.61%.

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.