California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 11,761 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,761 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Prudential Financial worth $70,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,454,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,906,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,409,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,601,000 after acquiring an additional 26,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PRU shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.85.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

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

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $104.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.34 and a 200 day moving average of $115.92. The company has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. 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.