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

Optivise Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 158,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,800,000 after buying an additional 17,812 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 241,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,661,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 14,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 171.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 15,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PRU. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

PRU stock opened at $99.39 on Monday. 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 $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

About Prudential Financial

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.