GAMMA Investing LLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

GAMMA Investing LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 29.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 66.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 55.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 209,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,539,000 after acquiring an additional 74,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 18.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 401,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,998,000 after acquiring an additional 62,487 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $119.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $123.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.61. The company has a market cap of $42.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.60 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.