Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25,027 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.69.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $125.60 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.09 and a twelve month high of $128.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.30.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.84%.

Prudential Financial 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.